LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT    OF 


Class 


£-&<*. 


>-^,  " 

T  •**••  "*~ 

V^X 


FOR 


OF 


TH       PRESIDENT 


TO  THE 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS 


OF  THE 


WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 


CHICAGO,   1 892- 1 893. 


<i 


CHICAGO: 

RAND,  MCNALLY  &  Co.» 
1898. 


:^ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Letter  of  Transmitted, 5 

CHAPTER  I.   Preliminary  Organization, 7 

II.   Organization  of  the  Company, 13. 

III.  Grounds  and  Buildings, 19 

IV.  Finance  and  Ways  and  Means,        51  - 

V.   Concessions  and  Public  Comfort, ..79 

VI.   The  World's  Columbian  Commission, 101 

VII.  The  Executive  Department ;  Foreign  Affairs ;  Trans- 
portation,        113 

VIII.  The  Council  of  Administration, 145 

IX.  The  Dedication  of  the  Buildings, 155 

X.   The  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections,     .     .     .     .167 
XI.   Last  Months  of  Construction,  Installation,  and  Organ- 
ization,       179 

XII.  The  Opening  of  the  Exposition  — May,  June,  July, .     .  209 

XIII.  August,  September,  October  —  Closing  Ceremonies,     .  249 

XIV.  Post-Exposition  Work:  Review, 279 


APPENDIX  A.  The  World's  Congress  Auxiliary, 325 

B.  Statement    of    Force    Employed 337 

C.  Report  of  the  Auditor;  Financial  Statements,    .     .     .  339 

D.  Report  Department  of  Admissions,  with  Statistics,     .  355 

E.  Report  Department  of  Collections,  with  Statistics, .     .  411 


187822 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


To  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS  OF  THE 

WORL&S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 

Gentlemen : 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  you  my  final  report 
as  president  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  In 
its  preparation  I  have  endeavored  to  sketch  briefly  the 
principal  transactions  of  the  company,  including  the  work 
of  the  preliminary  organization.  Since  the  work,  for 
the  performance  of  which  the  company  was  organized, 
is  now  almost  completed,  it  is  proper  that  such  a  record 
should  be  made,  and  I  undertake  it  for  the  purpose, 
first,  of  recalling  to  the  minds  of  the  directors  the  vari- 
ous important  features  of  the  great  enterprise,  which  are 
rapidly  fading  from  our  recollection;  and  second,  for  the 
purpose  of  affording  to  those  whose  duty  it  may  be  to 
conduct  similar  enterprises  in  the  future,  whatever  benefit 
may  be  derived  from  our  experience. 

The  work  of  your  company  began  in  April,  1890.  The 
writer  did  not  become  your  chief  executive  until  August, 
1892,  a  few  weeks  before  the  dedication  of  the  Exposition 
buildings,  and  less  than  a  year  before  the  date  fixed  for 
its  opening.  The  difficulties  of  my  position  are  under- 
stood by  all  of  you,  and  they  will  not  be  urged  except  in 
extenuation  of  my  shortcomings.  I  have  served  as  a  director 
of  this  company  from  its  organization  in  April,  1890.  In 
April,  1891,  I  was  called  to  be  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means,  by  reason  of  the  ill-health  of  its 
first  chairman,  Otto  Young.  During  the  following  twelve 

(5) 


6  LETTER  OF.TRANSMITTAL. 

months  I  visited  Europe  in  the  interest  of  ttie  Exposition. 
In  April,  1892,  in  addition  to  the  duties  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  chairmanship,  I  assumed  those  of  a  vice-president, 
the  business  of  the  company  having  grown  so  much  as  to 
demand  an  extension  of  the  active  executive  power.  A 
few  months  after  this,  in  August,  1892,  "£  was  called  to 
the  presidency,  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Baker,  and  at  the  same  time  became  chairman  of  the 
Council  of  Administration,  and  a  member  of  'the  Bureau  of 
Admissions  and  Collections.  Each  of  these^  offices  involved 
heavy  responsibilities,  which  could  not'^be  delegated, 
resting  upon  powers  which  were  illy  defined,  yet  were 
coextensive  with  the  purposes  of  the  company's  incorpora- 
tion. The  task  seemed  hopeless  at  times,  and  yet,  with 
the  aid  of  patience  and  fortunate  circumstances,  it  was 
accomplished.  The  work  demanded  my  entire  time  for 
nearly  two  years,  and  more  than  half  of  it  for  several 
months  more.  This  time  was  gladly  given,  although  at  a 
sacrifice  of  private  business  and  personal  comfort,  and  is 
referred  to  only  in  the  hope  that  you  and  your  constit- 
uent stockholders  will  be  moved  to  overlook  errors  and 
mistakes. 

Your  president  gladly  recalls  the  kindly  consideration 
which  members  of  this  board  and  leading  stockholders 
have  shown  him  in  trying  times,  and  these  recollections 
he  will  always  cherish.  He  counts  it  an  honorable  dis- 
tinction to  have  been  called  to  serve  you,  even  though 
the  services  were  severe,  and  if  he  has  retained  the 
friendship  and  esteem  of  each  one  of  you,  he  will  close 
his  work  with  no  feeling  but  of  gratitude  and  satisfaction. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  gentlemen, 

Very  sincerely  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  N.  HIGINBOTHAM, 
CHICAGO,  January  i,  1898.  President. 


REPORT   OF  THE   PRESIDENT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY    ORGANIZATION. 

THE  movement  for  the  holding  of  a  World's  Fair 
in  Chicago,  to  commemorate  the  discovery  of 
America,  was  a  gradual  growth.  Various  dates 
have  been  named  as  marking  the  beginning  of 
this  movement,  and  various  persons  have  claimed  the 
honor  of  first  conceiving  the  idea.  Other  cities,  notably 
Washington,  have  claimed  priority  in  the  conception.  In 
1885  or  1886  a  plan  was  devised  in  that  city  for  an  Expo- 
sition to  extend  over  three  years,  beginning  with  the 
centennial  anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  include  the  four  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America.  From  such  dis- 
cussions was  developed  a  competition  for  the  honor  of 
holding  the  Columbian  Exposition,  in  which  contended 
the  great  cities  of  Washington,  St.  Louis,  New  York,  and 
Chicago. 

The  movement  in  Chicago  became  general  when,  in 
obedience  to  instructions  from  the  City  Council,  on  July  22, 
1889,  the  mayor  of  Chicago,  DeWitt  C.  Cregier,  appointed 
a  citizens'  committee  of  one  hundred  to  lend  the  impetus 
of  a  powerful  organization  and  take  steps  necessary  to 
insure  success.  The  committee  of  one  hundred  suggested 
by  the  City  Council  was  enlarged  to  the  number  of  two 

(7) 


8  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

hundred  and  fifty.  It  was  convened,  on  August  i,  1889, 
in  the  council  chamber,  where  an  Executive  Committee 
was  chosen  consisting  of  the  following: 

DeWitt  C.  Cregier,  Chairman. 

William  Penn  Nixon.  Samuel  W.  Allerton. 

Frank  Lawler.  George  M.  Pullman. 

Lambert  Tree.  Ferdinand  W.  Peck. 

Robert  W.  Patterson,  Jr.  Otto  Young. 

Andrew  McNally.  Edwin  Walker. 

William  J.  Onahan.  Victor  F.  Lawson. 

John  B.  Carson.  Franklin  H.  Head. 

Joseph  W.  Fifer.  Edward  T.  Jeffery. 

John  Q.  Adams.  Edward  F.  Cullerton. 

Abner  Taylor.  Charles  B.  Farwell. 

J.  Irving  Pearce.  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham.  Rollin  A.  Keyes. 

Robert  A.  Waller.  Leroy  D.  Thoman. 

Jesse  Spalding.  Frederick  S.  Winston. 

Samuel  S.  Gregory.  George  M.  Bogue. 

Richard  Prendergast. '  Everitte  St.  John. 

Solomon  Thatcher,  Jr.  George  E.  Adams. 

Arthur  Dixon.  John  McGillen. 

Edward  F.  Cragin.  William  E.  Mason. 

Charles  L.  Hutchinson.  William  C.  Seipp. 

Lyman  J.  Gage.  Robert  Lindblom. 

John  R.  Walsh.  James  W.  Scott. 

George  R.  Davis.  George  O'Neill. 

William  D.  Kerfoot.  Marshall  M.  Kirkman. 

Shelby  M.  Cullom.  Joseph  Medill. 
Thomas  B.  Bryan. 

One  of  the  first  steps  taken  was  the  formation  of  a 
company  with  an  authorized  capital  of  $5,000,000,  divided 
into  500,000  shares  of  $10  each.  This  is  the  company 
whose  work  is  now  drawing  to  a  close. 

On  August  14,  1889,  the  following  commissioners  were 
authorized  by  the  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  to  take 
subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  company  under 
the  name  of  the  "World's  Exposition  of  1892,"  namely: 
DeWitt  C.  Cregier,  Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  George  Schneider, 
Anthony  F.  Seeberger,  William  C.  Seipp,  John  R.  Walsh, 
and  E.  Nelson  Blake.  On  April  9,  1890,  the  capital  stock 


PRELIMINARY  ORGANIZATION.  9 

had  been  fully  subscribed,  and  articles  of  incorporation 
were  issued,  the  object  of  the  corporation  being  set  forth 
as  "the  holding  of  an  International  Exposition,  or  World's 
Fair,  in  the  city  of  Chicago  and  State  of  Illinois,  to  com- 
memorate, on  its  four  hundredth  anniversary,  the  discovery 
of  America." 

During  the  eight  months  which  elasped  between  the 
appointment  of  the  citizens'  committee  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  and  the  permanent  organization  of  the  company,  the 
work  was  carried  on  vigorously,  every  effort  being  made  to 
awaken  proper  enthusiasm  in  the  city  and  State,  to  secure 
pledges  of  financial  support  sufficient  properly  to  launch 
the  enterprise,  and  to  convince  the  nation  at  large  and  its 
Representatives  in  Congress  that  Chicago  was  the  most 
suitable  place  for  holding  the  Exposition.  ^ 

Other  cities  were  contending  for  this  honor.  The  prin- 
cipal reasons  urged  in  favor  of  Chicago  were: 

First.  Its  central  location  with  regard  to  all  portions 
of  this  country.  It  was  shown  that  the  location  of  Chicago 
was  very  near  the  center  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  as  the  terminus  of  thirty-eight  great  rail- 
roads it  offered  facilities  for  gathering  visitors  from  all  parts 
of  the  nation  superior  to  those  possessed  by  any  other  city. 

Second.  Foreigners  and  Americans  residing  in  the  East 
would  enjoy  an  unusual  opportunity  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  remarkable  development  of  this  country  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains. 

Third.  "The  marvelous  growth  of  Chicago  from  a 
frontier  camp  to  the  active  city  of  more  than  a  million 
souls,  with  a  corresponding  advance  in  commercial,  indus- 
trial, and  intellectual  activities,  can  best  typify  the  giant 
young  nation  whose  discovery  the  projected  fair  is  to 
commemorate."  * 

*  Resolution  offered  by  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  August  i,  1889. 


10  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

It  was  shown  that  while  the  city  of  New  York  was  better 
located  for  the  convenience  of  foreigners,  the  holding  of 
the  Exposition  in  that  city  would  arouse  among  foreigners 
but  little  desire  to  know  our  country,  as  most  of  them  would 
depart  after  having  come  only  to  our  Atlantic  border.  It 
was  also  urged  that  in  Chicago,  more  readily  than  in  any 
other  city,  could  a  site  be  secured  which  should  be  adequate 
to  the  purposes  of  the  Exposition,  together  with  accommo- 
dations for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  visitors  within 
a  reasonable  distance  of  such  site.  The  truth  of  these 
representations,  and  particularly  of  the  last,  was  abundantly 
proven  by  the  issue. 

The  two  most  important  tasks  undertaken  by  the  pre- 
liminary organization  were,  first,  the  development  of  a 
sentiment  throughout  the  country  which  would  insure  the 
location  of  the  Exposition  in  Chicago  by  a  proper  act  of 
Congress;  second,  the  raising  of  a  fund  sufficient  to  estab- 
lish confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  city  to  carry  out  the 
plan.  In  furtherance  of  the  first  task,  missionary  work 
was  carried  on  in  the  several  States.  At  many  places 
addresses  were  delivered  in  favor  of  Chicago,  and  persistent 
efforts  were  made  to  win  public  sentiment  in  sections 
which  had  been  indifferent  or  hostile.  In  the  city  "State 
associations "  were  formed  composed  of  former  residents 
of  various  States,  but  then  living  in  Chicago.  These  asso- 
ciations undertook  to  influence  sentiment  in  their  native 
States. 

The  campaign  culminated  at  Washington  when  the 
claims  of  four  cities — New  York,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and 
Washington — were  considered  and  voted  upon  by  the  House 
of  Representatives.  The  vote  resulted  in  a  triumph  for 
Chicago.  For  the  accomplishment  of  this  result  great 
credit  is  due  to  George  R.  Davis,  who  conducted  the  campaign 
at  Washington,  and  who,  by  reason  of  his  experience  in 


PRELIMINAR  Y  ORGANIZA  TION.  \  i 

public  life,  was  able  to  direct  the  work  most  efficiently. 
His  efforts  were  seconded  by  Edwin  Walker,  subsequently 
solicitor-general  of  your  company,  who  aided  in  this  cam- 
paign and  afterward  assisted  in  drafting  the  law  providing 
for  the  Exposition.  In  this  work  many  other  distin- 
guished citizens  participated,  and  permanent  headquarters 
were  maintained  in  Washington  for  a  number  of  months. 

The  second  task  presented  equal  difficulties,  and  for  its 
accomplishment  the  credit  is  due  chiefly  to  Otto  Young, 
through  whose  persistent  efforts  a  most  successful  canvass 
was  made,  resulting  in  a  few  months  in  the  securing  of  over 
28,000  subscriptions,  ranging  in  amount  from  $10  to  $100,000. 
In  this  work  D.  K.  Hill  and  a  number  of  other  citizens 
took  a  prominent  and  effective  part. 

In  addition  to  the  two  lines  of  operation  above  referred 
to,  the  preliminary  organization  availed  itself  of  the  ser- 
vices of  Edward  T.  Jeffery  and  Octave  Chanute,  who,  in 
the  interest  of  Chicago,  visited  the  Universal  Exposition 
in  Paris  in  1889,  and,  after  careful  study  for  several  months, 
prepared  upon  it  a  report  which  was  published  and  used 
in  the  work  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

The  verdict  of  Congress  having  been  given  in  favor  of 
Chicago,  an  act  providing  for  "celebrating  the  four  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Christo- 
pher Columbus,  by  holding  an  international  exhibition  of 
arts,  industries,  manufactures,  and  the  products  of  the  soil, 
mine,  and  sea,  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois," was  approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
on  April  25,  1890.  This  act  will  be  referred  to  later.  The 
work  of  the  preliminary  organization  closed  with  the  first 
meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  "World's  Exposition  of 
1892,"  held  on  April  4,  1890. 

It  would  be  impossible  within  the  limits  of  this  report 
to  do  justice  to  the  services  of  all  those  who  participated 


12  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

in  the  different  lines  of  work  which  culminated  in  the 
selection  of  Chicago  as  the  location  and  your  company  as 
the  agent  for  holding  the  Exposition.  It  was  a  cause 
which  excited  the  interest  of  all  patriotic  citizens,  and  led 
them  to  labor  unceasingly  upon  anything  that  would  be 
likely  to  affect  the  general  result.  For  a  long  time  public 
interest  was  greatly  aroused  and  "The  World's  Fair" 
began  to  occupy  a  large  amount  of  space  in  the  daily 
papers.  Glancing  through  the  files  of  these  we  can  refresh 
our  minds  as  to  the  state  of  feeling  that  existed  in  our 
midst  during  this  preliminary  work.  Our  citizens  looked 
upon  the  coming  quadro-centennial  of  the  discovery  of 
America  as  an  opportunity  for  this  city  to  vindicate  its 
position  as  a  great  center  of  industrial  and  intellectual 
activity,  and  by  reason  of  the  eagerness  for  this  oppor- 
tunity the  citizens  were  willing  to  do  everything  within 
their  power  to  make  the  event  worthy  of  the  nation. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    COMPANY. 

A  CORPORATION  had  been  formed,  composed  of 
nearly  thirty  thousand  stockholders,  or  subscrib- 
ers to  the  capital  stock,  drawn  from  every  walk 
of  life.  The  subscriptions  had  been  given  out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  capitalist,  the  competence  of  the 
business  man  of  moderate  means,  and  the  salaries  and 
wages  of  the  poor,  all  being  animated  by  public  spirit  and 
a  feeling  of  pride  in  their  city.  Few  expected  to  receive 
back  any  considerable  amount  of  their  subscriptions.  The 
hope  was  expressed  that,  after  every  requirement  to  do 
honor  to  the  occasion  had  been  fulfilled,  some  payment 
might  be  made  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  in  1876, 
when  about  one-third  of  the  amount  subscribed  was 
returned,  but  no  one  expected  that  the  management  of 
the  Exposition  would  be  modified  on  this  account.  Never- 
theless, this  hope  would  have  undoubtedly  been  realized 
but  for  the  financial  panic  which  the  Exposition  encoun- 
tered shortly  after  its  gates  were  opened.  In  the  face  of 
this,  however,  10  per  cent  of  the  subscriptions  have  been 
returned  to  the  stockholders. 

In  response  to  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders 
several  thousands  gathered  at  the  building  known  as 
Battery  D,  upon  the  lake  front,  on  the  morning  of 
April  10,  1890.  The  meeting  was  presided  over  by  Mayor 
Cregier,  and  James  W.  Scott  was  chosen  secretary.  It 
was  an  enormous  and  unwieldy  body,  and  had  some 

(13) 


I4  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

difficulty  in  perfecting  an  organization.  The  first  step 
necessary  was  the  election  of  a  board  of  directors. 
Proposals  for  the  election  of  a  board  of  forty-five 
were  urged  on  one  hand  and  for  a  board  of  seventy-five 
upon  the  other.  Finally  it  was  ordered  that  a  board  of 
forty-five  be  chosen,  and  the  meeting  proceeded  to  elect 
this  board.  Nearly  all  the  stockholders  were  present  or 
were  represented  by  proxy. 

The  following  directors  were  chosen: 

Owen  F.  Aldis.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick. 

Samuel  W.  Allerton.  Andrew  McNally. 

William  T.  Baker.  Joseph  Medill. 

Thomas  B.  Bryan.  Adolph  Nathan. 

Edward  B.  Butler.  Robert  Nelson. 

William  H.  Colvin.  John  J.  P.  Odell. 

Mark  L.  Crawford.  Potter  Palmer. 

DeWitt  C.  Cregier.  J.  C.  Peasley. 

George  R.  Davis.  Ferdinand  W.  Peck. 

James  W.  Ellsworth.  Erskine  M.  Phelps. 

John  V.  Farwell,  Jr.  Eugene  S.  Pike. 

Stuyvesant  Fish.  Martin  A.  Ryerson. 

Lyman  J.  Gage.  Anthony  F.  Seeberger. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

Charles  L.  Hutchinson.  William  E.  Strong. 

Edward  T.  Jeffery.  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

Elbridge  G.  Keith.  Edwin  Walker. 

Rollin  A.  Keyes.  Robert  A.  Waller. 

Herman  H.  Kohlsaat.  John  R.  Walsh. 

Marshall  M.  Kirkman.  Charles  C.  Wheeler. 

Edward  F.  Lawrence.  Frederick  S.  Winston. 

Thies  J.  Lefens.  Charles  T.  Yerkes. 
Otto  Young. 

In  selecting  this  board,  the  leading  spirits  in  the  move- 
ment aimed  to  choose,  from  among  the  prominent  citizens 
and  representatives  of  various  interests,  men  of  recognized 
business  ability  who  could  be  counted  upon  as  having 
both  the  time  and  the  inclination  to  labor  in  behalf  of 
the  proposed  Exposition.  The  latter  qualifications  were 
considered  the  most  essential,  and  gentlemen  of  great 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  COMPANY.  15 

prominence  and  capacity  in  several  instances  withdrew  in 
favor  of  younger  men  who  could  more  easily  be  drawn 
upon  for  hard  service.  The  president  feels '  it  within  his 
province  to  recognize  the  wisdom  shown  in  the  selection 
of  directors,  and  desires  to  add  his  tribute  to  the  industry 
and  personal  sacrifice  of  those  who  were  chosen. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  was  held 
April  12,  1890,  at  the  Sherman  House.  Edwin  Walker 
was  chosen  chairman  of  the  meeting,  and  the  first  acts 
were  the  appointment  of  committees  on  finance  and  by- 
laws. 

The  choice  of  the  Board  for  president  fell  upon 
Lyman  J.  Gage,  at  that  time  vice-president  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Chicago,  the  only  doubt  being  as  to  his 
willingness  to  undertake  the  task  in  addition  to  his  already 
heavy  responsibilities.  Mr.  Gage  was  chosen  president  on 
April  30,  1890,  and  on  the  same  date  Thomas  B.  Bryan 
was  chosen  first  vice-president,  and  Potter  Palmer, 
second  vice-president.  Mr.  Bryan  assumed  many  of  the 
active  functions  of  the  executive  in  order  to  relieve  Mr. 
Gage  as  far  as  possible.  On  May  6th  the  Board  elected 
William  K.  Ackerman  auditor,  and  Anthony  F.  Seeberger 
treasurer.  The  secretary's  office  was  not  filled  permanently 
until  July  u,  1890,  when  Benjamin  Butterworth,  then  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Cincinnati,  was  elected  secre- 
tary. In  the  meantime  the  duties  were  performed  by 
Director  Rollin  A.  Keyes.  By-laws  were  adopted,  which 
provided  for  certain  committees  with  jurisdiction  over 
various  branches  of  the  work. 

These   committees  were  appointed  by  the  president  as 
follows: 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINANCE. 
Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  Chairman. 
Elbridge  G.  Keith.  John  R.  Walsh. 

John  J.  P.  Odell.  Otto  Young. 


REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

COMMITTEE  ON  GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS. 

DeWitt  C.  Cregier,  Chairman. 
Owen  F.  Aldis.  Potter  Palmer. 

George  R.  Davis.  Eugene  S.  Pike. 

Joseph  Medill.  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

COMMITTEE  ON  LEGISLATION. 

Edwin  Walker,  Chairman. 

William  T.  Baker.  George  R.  Davis. 

William  H.  Colvin.  Frederick  S.  Winston. 

COMMITTEE  ON  NATIONAL  AND  STATE  EXHIBITS. 

Erskine  M.  Phelps,  Chairman. 
Samuel  W.  Allerton.  Edward  T.  Jeffery. 

John  V.  Farwell,  Jr.  Anthony  F.  Seeberger. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  EXHIBITS. 

William  T.  Baker,  Chairman. 
James  W.  Ellsworth.  Thies  J.  Lefens. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham.  Martin  A.  Ryerson. 

COMMITTEE  ON  CATALOGUE  AND  PRINTING. 

Rollin  A.  Keyes,  Chairman. 

Mark  L.  Crawford.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick. 

Herman  H.  Kohlsaat.  Andrew  McNally. 

COMMITTEE  ON  TRANSPORTATION. 

Stuyvesant  Fish,  Chairman. 

Marshall  M.  Kirkman.  William  E.  Strong. 

J.  C.  Peasley.  Charles  C.  Wheeler. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINE  ARTS. 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  Chairman. 
James  W.  Ellsworth.  Robert  A.  Waller. 

Potter  Palmer.  Charles  T.  Yerkes. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MACHINERY  AND  ELECTRICAL  APPLIANCES. 

Adolph  Nathan,  Chairman. 
Edward  B.  Butler.  Robert  Nelson. 

DeWitt  C.  Cregier. v  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

Otto  Young,  Chairman. 

Edward  B.  Butler.  Edward  F.  Lawrence. 

William  H.  Colvin.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick. 

Stuyvesant  Fish.  Andrew  ''McNally. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham.  Adolph  Nathan. 

Rollm  A.  Keyes.  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

Herman  H.  Kohlsaat.  Robert  A.  Waller. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  COMPANY.  17 

These  committees  were  created  to  cover  every  feature 
of  the  work  which,  at  the  time,  it  was  supposed  the  com- 
pany would  be  called  upon  to  perform.  No  committee  on 
awards  was  appointed  because,  by  the  Act  of  Congress, 
jurisdiction  over  awards  was  clearly  withheld  from  the 
company  and  given  to  the  World's  Columbian  Commission. 
In  other  cases  the  functions  of  certain  of  these  committees 
were  found  to  clash  with  the  powers  of  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Commission,  as  interpreted  by  the  members  of  that 
body.  In  some  cases  the  committees  became  inactive,  except 
that  the  chairman  of  each  was  a  member  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee.  The  latter  was  clothed  with  the  entire 
powers  of  the  Board  when  the  Board  was  not  in  session. 

The  committees  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  and  on  Ways 
and  Means  were  charged  with  functions  which  required 
sessions  almost  daily  for  three  years.  The  Committee  on 
Finance  took  charge  of  the  general  financial  policy  of  the 
company;  the  Committee  on  Legislation,  of  matters  con- 
nected with  the  National  and  State  legislation  relating  to 
the  Exposition  and  the  legal  questions  which  arose.  The 
Committee  on  Foreign  Exhibits  took  steps  to  awaken  an 
interest  abroad,  and  the  Committee  on  Catalogue  and  Print- 
ing (subsequently  Press  and  Printing)  to  awaken  interest 
at  home.  The  Committee  on  Transportation  began  the 
work  of  providing  transportation  facilities  between  the  city 
and  Jackson  Park,  and  making  arrangements  for  the  traffic 
department,  including  the  handling  of  exhibits  coming  by 
rail  to  the  Exposition.  The  Committee  on  Fine  Arts  began 
at  once  a  quiet  canvass  to  ascertain  what  could  be  done 
in  this  field,  using  the  greater  energy  and  discretion,  because 
it  had  been  urged  by  critics  that  in  this  field  Chicago  would 
be  able  to  accomplish  little. 

On  June  12,  1890,  a  special  meeting  of  the  stockholders 
was  called,  at  which  the  name  of  the  company  was  changed 


1 8  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

from  the  "World's  Exposition  of  1892"  to  the  "World's 
Columbian  Exposition,"  in  view  of  the  Act  of  Congress 
which  rendered  the  former  name  unsuitable.  The  Act 
provided  for  the  holding  of  an  Exposition  in  1893,  and,  as 
it  recognized  this  company  as  the  active  organization, 
responsible  for  performing  the  heaviest  tasks  contemplated 
in  the  law,  the  change  of  name  was  necessary  to  conform 
to  the  spirit  of  the  Act.  At  the  same  meeting  the  author- 
ized capital  stock  of  the  company  was  increased  from  five 
millions  of  dollars  to  ten  millions  of  dollars.  This  measure 
is  part  of  the  financial  history  of  the  company  described 
in  Chapter  VI. 

The  World's  Columbian  Commission  held  its  first  meet- 
ing on  June  26,  1890,  and  from  this  date  began  a  series  of 
differences  between  that  body  and  the  Board  of  Directors. 
These  differences  were  usually  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  for- 
bearance and  courtesy,  but  they  delayed  the  work  and  at 
times  imperiled  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

These  matters  are  set  forth  in  Chapter  VII. 


CHAPTER   III. 

GROUNDS   AND    BUILDINGS. 

THE  organization  of  your  Board  occurred  three 
years  prior  to  the  date  fixed  for  the  opening  of 
the  Exposition,  a  time  far  too  short  for  the 
purposes  in  view.  It  became  the  most  impor- 
tant immediate  duty  of  your  Board  to  choose  a  site, 
perfect  plans,  and  begin  the  work  of  construction. 
The  selection  of  a  site  was  made  difficult  by  rivalries 
and  contentions  such  as  might  be  expected  under  the 
circumstances.  Sites  were  tendered  upon  the  north, 
west,  and  south  sides  of  the  city,  and  the  Committee 
on  Grounds  and  Buildings  undertook  to  inform  itself 
speedily  upon  the  adaptability  of  each  site  offered. 
With  this  contention  grew  up  a  plan  for  using  the  area 
known  as  the  Lake  Front,  a  strip  of  vacant  ground  310 
feet  wide  and  5,830  feet  long,  lying  between  Michigan 
Avenue  and  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railway, 
which  separated  it  from  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
extending  from  Randolph  Street  to  Park  Row  or  Twelfth 
Street.  This  land,  though  scarcely  improved,  had  been 
assigned  for  park  purposes.  It  had  been  made  by  filling 
the  margin  of  the  lake  from  the  east  side  of  Michigan 
Avenue  to  the  railroad,  which  then  was  carried  upon 
piles  at  some  distance  from  the  shore.  It  was  thought 
that  this  strip  could  be  enlarged  by  filling  from  the 
railroad  track  outward  to  the  dock  line  established  by 
the  United  States  Lake  Survey,  thus  giving  an  area  of 
about  two  hundred  acres  for  Exposition  purposes.  While 

(19) 


2O  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

this  area  was  not  considered  sufficient,  it  was  thought 
that  the  most  important  features  of  the  Exposition  could 
be  located  upon  this  site  and  the  remainder  placed  upon 
another  site  at  Jackson  Park.  It  was  even  thought 
practicable  to  fill  an  area  sufficient  to  provide  for  the 
entire  Exposition  upon  the  Lake  Front.  Many  favored 
this  idea,  in  spite  of  the  serious  objections  to  it.  Its 
friends  were  willing  to  attack  grave  difficulties,  for  the  plan 
offered  many  attractions  for  the  Exposition,  with  per- 
manent resulting  benefits  to  the  city.  Had  it  been  possible 
to  locate  the  entire  Exposition  at  the  Lake  Front,  the 
comfort  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  visitors,  who  would 
have  been  saved  much  travel,  and  the  permanent  benefit 
to  the  city  derived  from  the  location  of  a  magnificent 
park  close  to  the  heart  of  the  business  district,  would  have 
been  advantages  worthy  of  great  sacrifices.  When  the 
scheme  involved  a  division  of  the  Exposition  upon  a  dual 
site,  its  failure  was  inevitable,  although,  as  we  all  remember, 
those  of  us  who  favored  the  location  upon  the  Lake  Front 
were  slow  to  realize  the  fact. 

On  June  28th  the  Board  of  Directors  adopted  a  resolu- 
tion that  the  Lake  Front,  increased  to  at  least  three 
hundred  acres,  be  adopted  as  the  site  for  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  subject  to  concurrence  by  the  city 
of  Chicago.  The  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings 
was  instructed,  if  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  should 
approve,  to  proceed  at  once  with  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions. In  the  same  resolution  the  Board  of  Directors 
pledged  itself  that,  if  necessary,  more  space  would  be  pro- 
vided. The  germ  of  the  dual  site  was  contained  in  this 
resolution,  for  it  was  apparent  that  sufficient  space  could 
not  be  found  by  filling  the  lake  to  the  Government  dock 
line.  The  War  Department  would  not  consent  to  filling 
beyond  that  line.  On  July  i,  1890,  the  Board  passed  a 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  21 

resolution  adopting  the  Lake  Front  and  Jackson  Park  as 
the  site  for  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  declaring 
the  intention  "  to  make  as  large  a  use  as  may  be  possible 
of  room  now  existing,  or  that  may  hereafter  be  gained, 
on  the  Lake  Front,  and  to  use  Jackson  Park,  as  far  as  may 
be  necessary,  to  provide  adequate  room  and  buildings  for 
the  Exposition." 

It  can  be  truthfully  said  that  while  this  resolution  was 
adopted  unanimously,  no  one  regarded  it  as  a  final  adjust- 
ment of  the  question  of  site.  Obstacles  to  any  use  of  the 
Lake  Front  for  Exposition  purposes  appeared  in  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  property  owners  upon  Michigan  Avenue  to 
the  erection  of  buildings  upon  this  area,  and  in  the  heavy 
expense  incident  to  the  filling  of  so  great  an  area  as  was 
contemplated  in  the  plan. 

Meanwhile  the  Jackson  Park  site,  at  first  adopted  for 
the  purpose  of  accommodating  the  overflow  from  the  con- 
tracted area  of  the  Lake  Front,  was  carefully  considered, 
and  negotiations  were  made  to  secure  from  the  South  Park 
Commissioners  a  tender  of  ground  in  the  South  Park 
system  sufficient  to  answer  the  utmost  needs  of  the  great 
Exposition,  if  it  should  be  found  necessary  to  abandon  the 
Lake  Front  entirely. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July,  1890,  at  a  special  session  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  called  to  consider 
matters  relating  to  the  Exposition,  an  act  was  passed  author- 
izing the  commissioners  of  the  various  park  districts  about 
Chicago  to  grant,  for  the  purposes  of  the  Exposition,  the 
use  of  any  of  the  park  areas  under  their  control. 

A  working  staff  of  experts  became  necessary  for  properly 
carrying  on  the  work  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and 
Buildings,  and  this  committee,  under  authority  from  the 
Board,  appointed  F.  L.  Olmsted  &  Co.  consulting  land- 
scape architects,  Abram  Gottlieb  consulting  engineer,  and 


22  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Burnham  &  Root  consulting  architects.  The  committee 
also  appointed  a  board  of  physicians  consisting  of  Dr. 
Hosmer  A.  Johnson  of  the  south  division,  Dr.  Oscar 
De  Wolf  of  the  west  division,  and  Dr.  Fernand  Henrotin 
of  the  north  division  of  the  city.  These  appointments 
were  made  for  the  "purpose  of  advising  the  committee  as 
to  the  physical  features  of  the  sites  offered,  the  approxi- 
mate cost  of  preparing  them  for  occupancy,  their  suscep- 
tibility of  proper  drainage,  the  cost  of  erecting  the 
Exposition  buildings  thereon,  and  the  hygienic  conditions 
accompanying  them."* 

The  scope  of  the  site  question  was  again  enlarged. 
Your  Board  was  not  in  a  position  to  appropriate  from  its 
funds  the  amount  necessary  for  filling  the  space  required 
at  the  Lake  Front,  unless  it  could  be  reimbursed  therefor 
by  the  city,  which  reimbursement  the  city  declined  to 
undertake.  The  portion  of  Jackson  Park  which  had  been 
adopted  as  a  part  of  the  site  was  the  unimproved  portion, 
including  about  500  acres,  the  improved  area  at  the  north 
end  of  the  park  and  the  Midway  Plaisance,  connecting 
this  park  with  Washington  Park,  being  withheld.  It  was 
thought  that  less  than  400  acres  could  be  made  available 
for  Exposition  purposes  in  the  unimproved  portion.  Your 
landscape  architects  reported  that  this  area  could  not,  by 
reasonable  expenditure  and  within  the  time  practically 
fixed,  be  made  to  accommodate  satisfactorily  the  entire 
Exposition.  The  landscape  architects  further  stated  that 
even  the  addition  of  the  Midway  Plaisance  would  not 
make  Jackson  Park  a  satisfactory  site  for  the  entire  Ex- 
position. 

Therefore,  on  August  19,  1890,  the  Board  of  Directors 
declared  that  unless  enough  area  could  be  made  available 

*Report  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  September  8,  1890, 
Document  No.  80,  secretary's  office. 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  23 

within  a  reasonable  cost  to  accommodate  the  whole  Expo- 
sition in  Jackson  Park,  another  location  should  be  secured, 
such  location,  if  adopted,  to  possess  the  merit  of  having 
at  least  400  acres  available  for  use,  so  as  to  accommodate 
the  whole  Exposition  if  necessary.  The  Board  of  South 
Park  Commissioners  was  urgently  requested  to  tender  the 
use  of  Washington  Park  and  the  Midway  Plaisance  in 
addition  to  Jackson  Park,  thus  giving  up  the  whole  South 
Park  system  to  the  Exposition.  On  August  26th  the 
Board  of  Directors  named  September  gth  as  the  date  for 
the  final  settlement  of  the  question  of  site.  On  this  date 
the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  submitted  a 
final  report  containing  a  careful  statement  of  the  advan- 
tages of  each  site,  and  a  thorough  treatment  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  the  committee  had  encountered.  By  this 
time  the  South  Park  Commissioners  had  enlarged  their 
original  tender  so  as  to  include  all  of  Jackson  Park  and 
the  Midway  Plaisance,  an  area  of  about  650  acres.  This 
was  all  the  space  which  the  Exposition  finally  occupied, 
although  subsequently  efforts  were  made  to  secure  Wash- 
ington Park,  also,  from  the  fear  that  otherwise  the  area 
would  not  be  sufficient  for  the  extensive  plans  which  were 
being  outlined. 

At  the  meeting  of  September  9,  1890,  the  question  of  site 
was  reopened.  A  formal  ballot  was  taken  in  which  twenty- 
one  votes  out  of  thirty-five  were  cast  for  "Jackson  Park 
and  the  Lake  Front,"  the  other  fourteen  votes  being  scat- 
tered for  the  several  north  or  west  side  sites.  This  vote 
shows  that  the  use  of  the  Lake  Front,  notwithstanding  the 
well  known  obstacles,  was  still  seriously  entertained. 

The  Act  of  Congress  providing  for  the  Exposition 
required  that  the  site  should  be  accepted  by  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission.  The  members  of  the  Commission 
looked  with  little  favor  upon  the  plan  of  a  dual  site,  neither 


24  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

were  they  willing  to  accept  Jackson  Park  and  the  Midway 
Plaisance  as  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  Nevertheless,  the 
Commission,  at  its  meeting  of  July  2,  1890,  formally  accepted 
the  dual  site.  This  acceptance  did  not  end  the  contention 
any  more  than  did  the  various  votes  of  the  Board  of  Direct- 
ors upon  the  same  subject.  It  was  one  of  those  questions 
that  would  not  stay  settled  until  it  was  settled  properly.  I 
make  this  remark  with  no  intention  of  reflecting  upon  the 
position  taken  by  any  director  at  the  time,  having  been 
myself  for  a  long  time  in  favor  of  the  Lake  Front  idea. 
The  Board  had  twice,  on  July  ist  and  September  pth,  by 
formal  vote,  declared  in  favor  of  the  dual  site,  enlarged  in  the 
second  case  by  added  area  in  Jackson  Park.  Each  time  the 
Commission  had  acquiesced,  but  the  second  time  it  made 
a  request  that  the  Board  of  Directors  obtain  from  the 
South  Park  Commissioners  the  use  of  Washington  Park 
also.  This  was  subsequently  done,  but  with  the  condition 
that  if  any  considerable  portion  of  Washington  Park  should 
be  used  the  improved  part  of  Jackson  Park  should  not  be 
used.  Several  ordinances  were  adopted  by  the  South  Park 
Commission  to  complete  the  formal  tender  of  the  various 
portions  of  the  site.  These  were  coupled  with  conditions 
requiring  your  company  to  give  a  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$100,000,  conditioned  upon  the  restoration  of  the  park  to 
the  commissioners  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition  in  as 
good  condition  as  received,  the  removal  of  the  buildings 
and  debris,  and  compensation  for  damages.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  the  portion  of  Jackson  Park  upon  which  most  of 
the  buildings  were  located  was  certain  to  receive  consider- 
able improvement  from  the  work  of  your  company,  as  it 
consisted  mainly  of  low  and  marshy  areas  partially  covered 
with  water,  together  with  sand  dunes  and  ridges.  The 
growth  upon  it  consisted  mainly  of  native  scrub  oaks,  of 
little  value  for  park  purposes. 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  25 

These  difficult  questions  were  handled  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  great  credit  is  due 
to  its  members  for  the  careful  consideration  which  they 
gave  to  them.  In  these  deliberations  over  the  site  months 
of  valuable  time  were  lost  and  the  success  of  the  Exposi- 
tion was  to  that  extent  endangered. 

From  this  time,  September  9,  1890,  efforts  were  made  to 
push  the  work  rapidly  forward,  but  the  starting  was  very 
slow  and  difficult.  In  October  an  attempt  was  made  to 
designate,  by  formal  resolution  of  the  Board,  the  portions 
of  the  Exposition  which  should  be  located  upon  the  Lake 
Front,  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  pledging  itself 
to  secure  the  funds  required  to  do  the  piling  and  filling 
necessary  for  enlarging  the  area  to  about  150  acres.  Mean- 
while the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  took  a 
decisive  step  by  making  plans  for  the  prosecution  of  work 
in  Jackson  Park  for  that  part  of  the  Exposition  which,  in 
any  event,  would  be  there  located. 

The  Act  of  Congress  provided  that,  before  the  President 
of  the  United  States  should  issue  his  proclamation  setting 
forth  the  time  and  place  of  the  Exposition,  and  should 
extend  an  invitation  to  foreign  nations  to  participate 
therein,  he  should  be  notified  by  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  that  provision  had  been  made  for  grounds 
and  buildings  for  the  use  of  the  Exposition,  and  that  ten 
millions  of  dollars  had  been  provided,  to  be  used  and 
expended  for  its  purposes.  Great  anxiety  was  felt  that 
this  proclamation  and  these  invitations  should  be  issued 
at  the  earliest  moment.  Before  this  could  be  done  it  was 
necessary  that  the  Commission  should  accept  the  site 
tendered  by  your  company,  and  approve  the  plans  and 
specifications  of  the  buildings.  A  third  condition  was  the 
securing  of  ten  millions  of  dollars  from  bona  fide  sub- 
scriptions or  other  legally  binding  means.  The  first  con- 


26  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

dition  was  complied  with  by  the  selection  of  the  Lake 
Front  and  Jackson  Park;  the  third  had  been  satisfied,  as 
will  appear  in  Chapter  VI.  The  term  "plans  and  specifi- 
cations" taken  literally  would  have  postponed  the  Presi- 
dent's proclamation  at  least  a  year.  The  term  was  not 
taken  literally,  and  that  which  was  accepted  by  the  Com- 
mission consisted  of  a  paper  in  which  the  expert  advisers 
of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  set  forth  a 
general  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  Jackson  Park  and 
the  Midway  Plaisance  as  the  principal  site  for  the  Expo- 
sition. 

This  paper  was  the  first  outline  of  the  scheme  for  the 
Exposition  grounds  and  buildings  as  finally  developed. 
It  provided  that  parts  of  the  marsh  were  to  be  dredged 
and  other  parts  filled,  thus  creating  a  lagoon  with  an 
outlet  upon  the  lake  shore,  an  island  to  be  covered  with 
native  wood,  affording  a  charming  natural  landscape  to 
relieve  the  formal  treatment  of  other  portions  of  the 
grounds;  the  lagoons  to  be  continued  south  by  a  canal, 
passing  the  principal  buildings,  into  a  large  basin,  forming 
a  court  around  which  the  principal  buildings  of  the  Expo- 
sition should  be  grouped.  It  provided  that  this  canal  and 
basin  should  be  treated  formally,  with  embankments  of 
stone  and  brick,  with  parapets  and  balustrades,  and  steps 
and  landings  here  and  there,  in  contrast  with  the  lagoon 
at  the  north,  the  shores  and  banks  of  which  were  to  be 
left  in  a  natural  state.  It  provided  in  a  general  way  for 
working  out  the  landscape  features  with  turf,  flowers,  trees, 
etc.  The  idea  of  a  Court  of  Honor,  now  so  familiar  and 
famous,  was  clearly  indicated  in  this  paper.  Everything 
which  was  afterward  done  was  in  harmony  with  the  scheme 
thus  presented,  and  a  natural  development  thereof.  It  pro- 
vided that  the  buildings  around  the  Court  of  Honor  should 
be  impressive  and  treated  classically.  It  named  the  Admin- 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  27 

istration  Building,  the  Machinery  Hall,  and  the  buildings 
for  Manufactures,  Mines,  and  Electricity,  placing  them  sub- 
stantially as  they  were  finally  located,  and  provided  that 
they  should  form,  in  design,  a  substantial  and  impressive 
whole.  North  of  this  court  the  architecture  should  be  of 
a  lighter  character.  The  Government  Building  was  placed 
north  of  the  Manufactures  Building,  and,  across  the  lagoon 
from  it,  the  building  for  Fish  and  Fisheries.  The  Horti- 
cultural Building  was  placed  in  the  meadow  in  the  north 
or  improved  part  of  the  park,  where,  afterward,  the  Art 
Building  was  located.  The  specifications  provided  that 
transportation  lines  should  enter  the  park  at  the  south- 
west corner,  although  stations  might  be  located  at  the 
Midway  Plaisance,  and  also  provided  for  an  electric 
intramural  railway  passing  around  the  grounds.  It  con- 
tained the  idea  that  visitors  to  the  Exposition  should 
be  brought  by  the  various  transportation  lines  and  landed 
inside  the  Administration  Building,  whence  they  would 
pass  into  the  grounds  and  secure  their  first  impression 
of  the  Exposition  from  the  best  possible  point  of 
view.  This  idea  was  not  carried  into  effect.  The  speci- 
fications mention  generally  the  subjects  of  electricity, 
steam,  gas,  sewerage,  and  water  supply,  and  close  with  a 
promise  that  the  Lake  Front  would  be  dealt  with  as 
soon  as  it  was  determined  how  much  land  would  be  there 
required. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  say  too  much  in  praise  of  the 
men  who,  grasping  the  possibilities  of  the  situation  with- 
out dismay  at  its  difficulties,  evolved  a  plan  so  broad  as 
this;  a  plan  necessarily  elastic,  but  containing  the  germs 
of  grand  ideas  which,  developed  in  the  spirit  in  which 
they  were  conceived,  realized  a  complete  and  splendid 
success.  These  ideas,  though  quickly  formulated,  were 
the  result  of  the  careful  study  and  critical  examination 


28  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

which  had  been  going  on  for  several  months.  These 
plans  and  specifications  were  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
Directors  on  November  21,  and  by  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  on  November  25,  1890. 

In  order  to  perfect  the  organization  necessary  for  the 
great  work  of  construction,  radical  changes  were  made  in 
the  staff  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings. 
By  the  authority  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  the  commit- 
tee created  a  Construction  Department,  and  appointed 
Daniel  H.  Burnham,  of  the  firm  of  Burnham  &  Root, 
chief  of  construction.  His  partner,  John  W.  Root,  be- 
came architect ;  Abram  Gottlieb,  engineer,  and  Olmsted 
&  Co.,  landscape  architects,  all  attached  to  the  Construc- 
tion Department.  To  work  out  the  above  plan  and  to 
prepare  the  designs  for  the  buildings  was  the  next  task. 
The  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  considered  three 
methods  of  procedure: 

First.  That  of  inviting  unlimited  competition  from 
those  who  might  desire  to  submit  plans  for  buildings. 

Second.  A  limited  competition  among  a  number  of 
architects  to  be  selected  by  the  committee. 

Third.  The  selection  of  a  few  leading  architects  to 
constitute  a  Board  of  Consulting  Architects,,  acting  in 
harmony,  apportioning  out  the  work  among  its  members, 
and  consulting  at  various  stages  until  the  plans  were 
perfected. 

The  third  plan  was  adopted. 

The  creation  of  the  Board  of  Architects  marks  one  of 
the  turning  points  of  the  Exposition.  The  adoption  of 
any  other  course  for  obtaining  designs  would  have  delayed 
the  work,  and  would  have  prevented  that  harmony  in  the 
general  outline  which  was  so  desirable.  In  a  large  meas- 
ure the  success  of  the  architectural  features  of  the  Expo- 
sition was  due  to  the  method  adopted  for  securing  the 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  29 

designs.  It  is,  therefore,  of  interest  to  know  how  the  plan 
for  a  Board  of  Architects  originated.  In  his  final  report 
as  chief  of  construction  and  director  of  works,  Mr.  Burn- 
ham  says : 

On  December  10,  1890,  the  chief  of  construction  drew  up  a  memo- 
rial to  the  Grounds  and  Buildings  Committee.  Mr.  Olmsted  made 
some  changes  in  its  verbiage,  and  the  whole  was  then  rewritten  by 
Mr.  Root,  the  arguments  of  the  original  and  their  order  being  strictly 
adhered  to.  The  chief  of  construction  personally  presented  the  docu- 
ment to  the  committee.  It  was  not  signed,  but  he  wrote  the  names 
of  his  confreres  in  it  in  pencil  before  leaving  the  meeting,  obtaining 
their  consent  a  few  hours  afterward. 

This  memorial  discussed  at  length  the  several  methods 
by  which  architectural  designs  might  be  obtained,  and 
mentioned  the  friendly  cooperation,  mutual  helpfulness, 
and  enthusiasm  that  could  be  evoked  in  such  a  body  as 
the  proposed  Board  of  Architects  called  together  in  the 
spirit  and  for  the  purpose  contemplated. 

It  was  at  first  the  intention  that  this  board  should 
consist  of  five  leading  architectural  firms  of  this  country, 
selected  from  outside  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  that  their 
task  should  be  the  designing  of  the  buildings  forming  the 
Court  of  Honor,  leaving  the  remaining  buildings  of  the 
Exposition  to  be  designed  by  other  architects  to  be  selected 
later.  Accordingly  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Build- 
ings, upon  the  nomination  of  the  chief  of  construction, 
selected  the  following  architects: 

Richard  M.  Hunt  of  New  York,  George  B.  Post  of 
New  York,  McKim,  Mead  &  White  of  New  York,  Peabody 
&  Stearns  of  Boston,  Van  Brunt  &  Howe  of  Kansas  City. 
Subsequently  five  Chicago  firms  were  added:  Burling  & 
Whitehouse,  Jenney  &  Mundie,  Henry  Ives  Cobb,  Solon 
S.  Beman,  and  Adler  &  Sullivan. 

This  board  met  in  Chicago  on  January  10,  1891.  The 
members  visited  the  park  and  conferred  regarding  the 


30  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

task  before  them.  Before  the  board  had  fairly  organized 
and  concentrated  its  attention  upon  the  task,  John  W. 
Root  was  striken  with  pneumonia  and  died.  His  death 
caused  universal  grief  in  Exposition  circles,  in  which  he 
was  beloved  for  his  genial  character  and  esteemed  for  his 
great  reputation  as  an  architect.  His  loss  was  felt  to  be 
almost  irreparable.  The  board  paid  a  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory by  spreading  upon  its  records  a  memorial  apprecia- 
tive of  his  great  worth,  his  eminent  genius,  and  his 
exquisite  taste,  and  of  their  grief  at  his  untimely  removal. 
The  services  which  he  had  rendered  in  designing  the 
Exposition  were  felt  to  be  far  in  excess  of  the  compensa- 
tion which  he  had  received  during  the  brief  period  of  his 
employment,  and  the  amount  of  his  salary  as  consulting 
architect  for  a  year  was  paid  to  Mrs.  Root  in  recognition 
of  this  fact. 

His  partner,  Mr.  Burnham,  has  paid  a  tribute  to 
Mr.  Root's  memory  in  the  report  of  the  Department  of 
Works,  which  expresses  more  adequately  than  is  in  my 
power  his  reputation  as  an  architect. 

During  the  first  session  of  the  Board  of  Architects 
the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  as  a  preliminary 
measure,  instructed  the  Construction  Department  to  pro- 
vide in  its  plans  and  estimates  that  all  the  Exposition 
buildings  except  the  Art  Building  should  be  provided 
for  in  Jackson  Park,  and  to  consider  a  location  suitable 
for  an  Art  Building,  should  it  be  found  desirable  to  place 
that  building  there  also. 

The  buildings  were  assigned  to  the  architects  as  follows: 

Administration  — Richard  M.  Hunt. 
Agriculture  — McKim,  Mead  &  White. 
Machinery— Peabody  &  Stearns. 
Manufactures  —  George  B.  Post. 
Electricity  —  Van  Brunt  &  Howe. 
Horticulture  —  Jenney  &  Mundie. 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  31 

Fisheries  —  Henry  Ives  Cobb. 
*Venetian  Village  —  Burling  &  Whitehouse. 
Mines — Solon  S.  Beman. 
Transportation  —  Adler  &  Sullivan. 

By  this  time  it  had  been  decided  not  to  use  the  Admin- 
istration Building  as  a  terminal  station,  but  that  a  separate 
building  should  be  erected  for  this  purpose. 

The  two  features  of  the  building  scheme  most  important 
to  the  success  of  the  Exposition  were  the  comprehensive 
general  plan  adopted  November  2ist,  heretofore  referred 
to,  and  the  fortunate  selection  of  the  Board  of  Architects. 
It  was  arranged  that  this  board  should  adjourn  after  appor- 
tioning its  work  among  the  members;  that  the  members 
would  then  immediately  prepare  preliminary  sketches  for 
their  buildings  and  submit  them  at  a  second  conference, 
where  these  sketches  would  be  examined,  criticised,  and 
corrected;  afterward  complete  general  working  drawings 
would  be  prepared. 

The  architects  were  not  to  make  calculations  of  strength 
or  stability,  or  to  work  out  the  engineering  problems  con- 
nected with  their  structures,  but  only  those  problems 
relating  to  artistic  and  economic  design.  After  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  working  drawings  their  work  was  to  cease, 
except  that  they  were  to  give  attention  to  the  develop- 
ment and  execution  of  their  designs  sufficient  to  assure 
themselves  and  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings 
that  their  designs  were  executed  in  accordance  with  their 
true  spirit.  For  this  service  they  were  to  receive  their 
necessary  traveling  expenses  and  the  sum  of  $10,000  to 
each  architectural  firm;  $3,000  to  be  paid  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  the  preliminary  sketches,  $6,000  when  the  designs 
were  completed,  and  $1,000  when  the  buildings  were  com- 
pleted. The  architects  reassembled  in  Chicago  on  Febru- 

*A  structure  to  be  placed  at  the  end  of  the  great  pier  projecting  into  the  lake, 
east  of  the  Court  of  Honor.    This  part  of  the  plan  was  afterward  abandoned. 


32  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT, 

ary  22d,  bringing  with  them  their  preliminary  sketches. 
These  were  criticised  and  amended  and  were  presented 
to  the  Board  of  Directors  on  March  6,  1891.  These  sketches 
served  to  inform  the  directors  of  the  plans,  elevations, 
and  general  appearance  of  the  buildings,  and  gave  evidence 
that  the  work  was  progressing  satisfactorily.  The  Board 
expressed  its  approval  and  instructed  the  Committee  on 
Grounds  and  Buildings  to  proceed  with  the  work  upon 
the  lines  laid  down. 

About  this  time  the  Construction  Department  furnished 
estimates  of  cost  based  upon  the  plans  under  consideration, 
amounting  to  $12,766,890. 

Meanwhile,  on  February  nth,  the  Board  of  Directors 
had  taken  action  which  laid  the  ghost  of  the  Lake  Front, 
finally.  Under  the  supposition  that  it  would  be  placed 
there,  the  Art  Building  had  been  left  otherwise  unprovided 
for.  In  January  a  Budget  Committee,  consisting  of  eight 
directors,  had  been  created  and  instructed  to  prepare  a 
budget  of  estimates  for  all  departments  of  the  Exposition. 
This  committee,  after  much  labor  and  careful  consideration 
of  every  sort  of  data  upon  which  estimates  could  be  based, 
submitted  a  report.  It  estimated  the  amount  of  the 
expenditures  required  for  all  branches  of  the  Exposition 
to  May  i,  1893,  at  $16,075,453,  of  which,  as  above  stated, 
$12,766,890  was  for  the  preparation  of  grounds  and  the 
construction  of  buildings.  This  estimate  was  given  after 
careful  scrutiny  of  each  item,  with  a  view  to  reducing 
the  total  of  requirements  to  the  lowest  possible  amount, 
and  was  based  upon  the  supposition  that  the  entire  Expo- 
sition would  be  located  in  Jackson  Park.  The  committee 
pointed  out  the  very  evident  fact  that  the  attempt  to  use 
even  the  limited  area  available  on  the  Lake  Front  without 
filling  would  undoubtedly  increase  the  estimate  at  least  a 
million  dollars. 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  33 

The  presentation  of  this  budget  to  the  Board  represented 
a  distinct  advance  in  the  enterprise.  It  was-  the  first  time 
the  Board  had  before  it  any  comprehensive  and  reasonable 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done  and  of  funds 
to  be  expended.  The  magnitude  of  the  task  was  unfolded 
and  the  Board  could  adjust  its  measures  in  accordance 
therewith.  There  was  not  a  director  who  did  not  feel  the 
serious  difficulties  which  the  problem  presented,  and  all 
would  have  shrunk  with  dismay  had  they  known  how  greatly 
these  figures  would  be  exceeded  within  the  next  two  years. 
The  gravity  of  the  financial  problem  facilitated  the  task  of 
disposing  of  the  Lake  Front.  The  report  of  the  Budget 
Committee  was  adopted  and  thenceforward  all  attention  was 
concentrated  upon  Jackson  Park,  and  every  energy  was  given 
to  the  accomplishment  of  the  work  laid  out  there.  Daring 
the  following  spring,  while  the  work  of  dredging  and  filling 
was  being  rapidly  pushed  at  the  park,  the  plans  of  the 
buildings  came  in,  one  by  one,  from  the  distinguished 
architects  who  had  them  in  charge.  In  the  Construction 
Department  these  were  promptly  taken  up  and  prepared 
for  contracts.  This  department  extended  itself  rapidly  as 
the  needs  of  the  work  increased.  With  little  friction  and 
without  delay  sprang  up  around  the  chief  of  construction 
that  splendid  organization  which  played  such  a  great  part 
in  the  results  achieved.  The  discipline  and  efficiency  of 
the  force  was  greater  than  that  of  a  veteran  army,  for  it 
was  largely  composed  of  intelligent,  well  educated,  profes- 
sional men,  each  one  eminent  and  respected  in  his  particular 
line  of  work.  The  chief  of  construction  possessed  wonderful 
enthusiasm,  which  he  was  able  to  impart  to  those  about 
him.  He  had  success  in  choosing  his  assistants  and  lieu- 
tenants. He  had  a  capacity  for  attracting  to  him  young 
men  of  ardent  temperament  and  unusual  ability,  whose 
vigor  and  enthusiasm,  when  tempered  with  the  discretion 


34  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

of  older  heads,  formed  the  best  possible  combination  for 
the  purposes  in  view. 

The  dredging  and  filling,  which  must  precede  building 
operations,  was  begun  on  February  n,  1891.  The  great 
dredges  worked  their  way  slowly  through  the  channels 
marked  out  for  the  future  picturesque  lagoons  and  threw 
up  on  either  side  the  sand  and  soil  that  some  months  later 
became  beautiful  under  the  hands  of  the  landscape  archi- 
tect. The  marshes  that  lay  but  little  above  the  level  of 
the  lake  were  soon  raised  to  proper  grades,  but  even  when 
so  much  was  accomplished  it  can  not  be  said  that  the 
appearance  of  the  site  was  in  the  least  improved.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  barren  and  unsightly 
spot  than  this  gaunt,  cheerless  plain  with  the  fresh  earth 
and  sand  scattered  over  its  surface.  The  total  cost  of 
excavating  and  filling  was  $615,254.36. 

The  first  building  upon  which  proposals  for  construction 
were  invited  was  that  of  Mines  and  Mining.  Bids  were  adver- 
tised for  on  May  14,  1891;  the  contracts  were  awarded  nine 
days  later.  During  June,  1891,  contracts  were  awarded  for 
the  construction  of  the  building  for  Manufactures  and  the 
Liberal  Arts,  and  for  the  Horticultural,  Electrical,  and 
Woman's  buildings;  during  July  for  the  Administration, 
Transportation,  and  Agricultural  buildings.  In  August  the 
Fisheries  Building  was  placed  under  contract,  followed  in 
September  by  the  quaint  and  interesting  Forestry  Building, 
composed  of  timbers  and  natural  logs  of  wood  in  the  bark, 
comprising  every  species  of  wood  known  in  this  country. 
Machinery  Hall  and  the  Art  Building  were  the  last.  Both 
were  contracted  for  in  October,  1891. 

The  rapidity  with  which  these  plans  were  prepared, 
placed  under  contract,  and  put  under  way  is  another  evi- 
dence of  the  energy  and  efficiency  of  the  chief  of  con- 
struction, and  of  his  success  as  an  organizer.  The  lateness 


ND  BUILDINGS.  35 


of  the  time  when  the  contracts  were  let  for  the  Machinery 
Hall  and  the  Art  Building  was  a  serious  misfortune.  In 
each  case  the  installation  crowded  upon  the  heels  of  con- 
struction and  was  delayed.  This  was  particularly  true  of 
the  enormous  power  plant,  but  little  of  which  was  in  opera- 
tion on  May  i,  1893.  The  delays  were,  however,  unavoid- 
able. In  the  case  of  Machinery  Hall  they  grew  out  of  a 
commendable  caution  upon  the  part  of  the  chief  of  con- 
struction, who  deemed  it  advisable  to  have  certain  engi- 
neering features  of  the  plan  revised  and  the  strains 
recalculated  in  order  that  perfect  stability  and  security 
might  be  insured.  The  Art  Building  was  for  many  months 
in  an  unfortunate  predicament ;  a  sentiment  prevailed 
throughout  the  city  that  while  so  many  millions  were  to 
be  expended  for  temporary  buildings  it  was  only  just  that 
one  of  a  permanent  character  should  be  erected,  that 
might  remain  as  a  memorial.  It  was  urged  that  the  Art 
Building  for  the  Exposition  should  be  located  upon  the 
Lake  Front  and  become  the  property  of  the  Art  Institute. 
The  additional  cost  of  making  this  building  permanent 
could,  it  was  thought,  be  borne  by  the  Art  Institute.  Few 
who  were  identified  with  the  Exposition  enterprise  could 
look  with  favor  upon  the  separation  of  this  one  building 
from  the  others,  and  its  location  at  a  point  seven  miles 
distant  from  the  rest  of  the  Exposition.  The  design  of 
the  Art  Building  was  delayed  many  months  that  this  plan 
might  be  considered.  It  was  finally  abandoned.  Charles 
B.  Atwood,  the  designer  in  chief  of  the  Exposition, 
prepared  the  plans  of  the  beautiful  Art  Building.  It  was 
located  in  the  great  meadow  in  the  northern  part  of 
Jackson  Park,  the  site  previously  assigned  to  the  Horticul- 
tural Building.  It  was  constructed  more  substantially  than 
were  the  other  buildings,  both  for  the  better  protection  of 
the  art  treasures  to  be  displayed  within  it,  and  with  the  idea 


36  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

that,  with  some  alterations,  it  might  remain  after  the  rest 
of  the  Exposition  had  passed  away.  It  was  built  of  brick 
and  steel,  and,  like  the  other  buildings,  was  covered  with 
staff.  But  little  wood  was  used  in  its  contraction,  and  it 
was  substantially  fireproof. 

For  the  admission  of  material  into  the  park  a  spur 
track  was  brought  in  from  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
and  as  the  filling  continued  tracks  were  made  to  diverge 
in  every  direction,  so  that  building  material  was  readily 
delivered  wherever  it  was  most  convenient  for  use.  Mill- 
ions of  feet  of  lumber,  thousands  of  tons  of  structural 
metals,  nails  and  glass  by  the  car  load,  every  kind  of  build- 
ing material  came  into  the  park  in  unheard  of  quantities. 
Thirty-six  thousand  four  hundred  and  seven  car  loads  of 
structural  material,  coal,  and  supplies  were  received  at 
Jackson  Park  before  July  n,  1893. 

The  work  of  filling  was  begun  with  a  few  hundred  men. 
When  the  construction  was  fairly  organized  the  number  of 
men  employed  in  the  park  increased  rapidly  to  more  than 
a  thousand,  and,  as  the  work  went  forward,  to  several  thou- 
sands. The  number  employed  at  any  one  time  can  not  be 
given  accurately.  During  the  later  months,  when  the  con- 
struction was  nearly  finished  and  the  installation  was  vig- 
orously progressing,  from  12,000  to  14,000  workmen  were 
busily  employed  within  the  inclosure. 

Shortly  after  the  contracts  were  awarded  for  the  Manu- 
factures Building  it  appeared  that  the  space  which  this 
building  provided  would  be  utterly  inadequate  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  departments  of  manufactures,  liberal 
arts,  and  ethnology.  The  external  outline  of  this  building 
as  it  was  finally  constructed  was  the  same  as  was  first 
designed.  The  original  plan  provided  a  suppressed  iron 
dome  in  the  center  and  two  interior  courts,  one  to  be 
occupied  by  the  leather  and  shoe  trades  building  and  the 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  37 

other  by  a  music  hall.  When  it  was  realized  that  more 
space  must  be  secured,  the  plan  of  the  dome  and  the  inner 
courts  was  abandoned  and  the  entire  inner  space  was  placed 
under  one  enormous  roof  supported  by  steel-trussed  arches. 
These  arches  sprang  from  the  floor  206  feet  into  the  air. 
Their  width  was  360  feet.  They  supported  a  roof  of  steel 
and  glass,  whose  central  ridge  was  237  feet  from  the  floor. 
They  were  so  connected  by  hinged  bolts  at  top  and  bot- 
tom as  to  adjust  themselves  to  changes  of  temperature 
without  injury  to  the  building. 

Little  can  be  said  in  these  remarks  regarding  the 
structural  features  of  the  Exposition.  The  brief  mention 
of  the  stupendous  character  of  the  Manufactures  Building 
is  made  to  illustrate  the  rapidity  qf  action  and  the  fertility 
of  resource,  coupled  with  boldness  and  audacity,  which 
were  the  notable  characteristics  of  the  Construction  Depart- 
ment. The  radical  change  in  this  structure,  just  described, 
was  determined  upon  and  designed  in  a  very  few  days 
after  the  conditions  which  required  it  were  fully  under- 
stood, and,  unlike  most  radical  changes  in  architectural 
design,  this  change  was  successful  from  both  an  artistic  and 
a  practical  point  of  view.  The  enormous  glass  roof,  at  its 
great  altitude,  presented  certain  serious  objections  and 
very  nearly  precipitated  a  lamentable  failure  of  at  least  a 
portion  of  the  Exposition.  It  might  be  unwise  to  repeat 
this  experiment,  unless  with  many  additional  precautions. 
The  danger  and  damage  from  broken  glass,  the  difficulty 
of  preventing  the  roof  from  leaking,  and  the  snow  from 
forming  avalanches  of  such  weight  as  to  crush  the  lower 
roofs  in  their  descent,  are  serious  objections.  As  late  as 
April,  1893,  the  whole  available  force  in  Jackson  Park  was, 
on  more  than  one  occasion,  called  into  action  to  protect 
exhibits  from  torrents  of  rain  pouring  through  defective 
or  shattered  roofs. 


38  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

An  interesting  and  important  controversy  occurred  in 
the  spring  of  1892  over  the  letting  of  contracts  for  the 
arc  and  incandescent  electrical  lighting.  This  is  worthy 
of  mention,  although  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  report 
to  make  a  continuous  record  of  even  the  prominent  feat- 
ures of  the  construction  work.  The  almost  successful 
attempt  of  a  combination  of  electrical  manufacturers  to 
compel  an  enormous  outlay  upon  the  part  of  this  company, 
and  the  means  by  which  the  attempt  was  frustrated,  are 
subjects  of  especial  interest. 

The  Electrical  Department  had  been  organized  with 
Frederick  Sargent  as  electrical  engineer.  Great  delay 
was  experienced  in  obtaining  data  upon  which  reliable 
estimates  could  be  made  of  the  amount  of  electric  lighting 
which  would  be  required.  This  difficulty  was  enhanced 
by  the  lack  of  harmony  between  the  two  portions  of  the 
dual  organization,  namely,  the  director-general's  depart- 
ments, under  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  and  the 
construction  department,  under  the  Committee  on  Grounds 
and  Buildings  of  your  company.  The  first  complete  esti- 
mate of  the  amount  of  electric  light  and  power  required 
was  obtained  in  January,  1892.  Finally,  in  February,  1892, 
the  chief  of  construction  advised  the  Committee  on  Grounds 
and  Buildings  that  he  was  ready  to  contract  for  the  elec- 
tric lighting  for  the  various  great  buildings,  the  Midway 
Plaisance,  and  the  State  and  foreign  buildings,  and  for 
decorative  lights.  He  was  at  once  authorized  to  advertise 
for  proposals.  The  bids  for  arc  lighting  were  presented 
to  the  committee  on  March  i5th.  The  only  bid  for  the 
entire  work  was  from  the  Thomson-Houston  Company 
for  6,000  arc  lamps  at  $38.50  each.  This  bid  was  exclusive 
of  wiring,  which  it  was  proposed  should  be  done  by  the 
Construction  Department.  Another  bid  for  a  part  of  the 
whole  amount  was  also  considered.  The  bids  were 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  39 

promptly  rejected  by  the  committee.  The  price  named 
was  believed  to  be  excessive  and  much  anxiety  was  felt 
over  the  matter.  The  gross  amount  for  arc  lights  would 
be  $231,000.  Nearly  all  of  the  principal  electric  companies 
of  the  country  were  at  this  time  entering  into  a  combina- 
tion and  forming  the  General  Electric  Company,  and  fear 
was  felt  lest  the  prices  for  lighting  would  be  advanced 
and  the  Exposition  company  be  made  to  suffer  thereby, 
especially  as  the  contract  for  incandescent  lighting,  a  work 
of  much  greater  importance  than  the  arc  lighting,  had 
not  then  been  arranged  for.  Two  days  after  the  rejection 
of  the  bids,  when  the  committee  was  still  considering  this 
important  matter,  a  proposition  was  received  from  the 
Standard  Electric  Company  of  Chicago  to  furnish  the 
apparatus  for  the  arc  lighting  for  $35  per  2,000  candle 
power  lamp,  the  company  agreeing  to  take  back  the 
apparatus  after  October  30,  1893,  at  the  rate  of  $20  per 
lamp,  making  the  net  price  to  the  Exposition  only  $15 
per  lamp.  This  bid  tended  to  relieve  the  situation.  In  a 
few  days  an  arrangement  was  reached  whereby  the  arc 
lighting  was  parceled  out  among  several  companies  at 
the  rate  of  $20  per  lamp  of  2,000  candle  power  capacity, 
thus  effecting  a  saving  of  nearly  50  per  cent.  Contracts 
were  made  with  the  Standard  Electric  Company  and  the 
General  Electric  Company  at  the  price  named.  The  total 
number  of  arc  lamps  furnished  by  them  under  these  con- 
tracts was  4,710. 

Bids  for  incandescent  lighting  were  received  and  con- 
sidered early  in  April,  1892.  At  once  the  committee  had 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  tactics  employed  by  bidders  in 
the  case  of  the  arc  light  contracts  were  being  repeated  on 
a  larger  scale.  The  estimated  number  of  incandescent 
lights  required  was  93,040.  The  various  companies  com- 
posing the  General  Electric  Company  put  in  bids  aver- 


40  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

aging  over  $18  per  lamp,  which  would  have  brought  the 
total  cost  of  these  contracts  to  the  enormous  sum  of 
$1,675,720.  But  the  South  Side  Metal  &  Machine  Works 
of  Chicago  offered  a  bid  for  the  entire  work  at  $6.60  per 
lamp.  The  other  bidders  had  not  supposed  that  this  com- 
pany would  enter  into  the  competition.  The  remarkable 
difference  between  this  bid  and  the  others  aroused  much 
attention.  The  figures  spoke  for  themselves,  and  demon- 
strated the  attempt  to  obtain  from  your  company  an 
enormous  profit  out  of  this  contract.  Action  upon  the 
bids  was  postponed  from  day  to  day,  while  a  subcommit- 
tee investigated  the  bid  of  the  South  Side  Metal  & 
Machine  Works,  and  conferred  with  the  officers  of  the 
General  Electric  Company  with  a  view  to  securing  a 
lower  bid.  It  was  learned  that  the  bid  of  the  South 
Side  Metal  &  Machine  Company  was  supported  by 
George  Westinghouse,  Jr.,  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric  & 
Manufacturing  Company.  The  General  Electric  Com- 
pany reduced  their  bid  to  $10  as  against  their  former 
bid  of  $18.49  Per  lamp,  and  thence  by  stages  the  bid  was 
reduced  to  $5.95  per  lamp.  Thus  was  effected  a  saving 
over  the  original  bid  of  $1,227,771.76. 

On  April  i4th  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Build- 
ings received  from  its  subcommittee  a  report  presenting 
the  amended  bid  of  the  General  Electric  Company  at  the 
rate  of  $5.95  per  light,  and  an  assignment  of  the  bid  of 
the  South  Side  Metal  &  Machine  Works  to  the  West- 
inghouse Electric  &  Manufacturing  Company.  All  of 
the  original  bids  were  thereupon  rejected,  and  the  com- 
mittee referred  the  matter  to  the  vice-president  of  the 
company,  the  writer,  and  the  vice-chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, W.  P.  Ketcham,  with  instructions  to  close  a 
contract  for  the  incandescent  electric  lighting  with  the 
General  Electric  Company  under  the  emergency  clause  in 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  41 

the  by-laws.  (This  was  a  clause  which  authorized  the 
Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  to  close  contracts, 
even  for  large  amounts,  without  the  authority  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  or  its  Executive  Committee,  whenever  an 
emergency  requiring  haste  should  arise.)  Within  the 
next  few  days  it  became  evident  that  the  "bottom  price" 
had  not  been  reached.  Mr.  Westinghouse,  with  his  attor- 
ney, took  up  the  matter  afresh  with  your  vice-president, 
urging  that  he  had  not  had  an  opportunity  to  inform 
himself  sufficiently  as  to  the  plans  as  a  basis  for  present- 
ing a  proper  bid.  After  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
subject,  your  vice-president  —  who,  in  the  absence  of  the 
president,  Mr.  Baker,  was  acting  president  —  reported  to 
the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  that,  in  his 
opinion,  an  emergency  did  not  exist,  and  that  he  deemed 
it  inexpedient  to  enter  into  the  contract  as  directed  by 
the  committee.  The  vice-president  had  already  obtained 
ample  assurance  that  if  the  contracts  were  readvertised  a 
bid  lower  than  $5.95  per  light  would  be  presented.  The 
committee  authorized  the  chief  of  construction  to  adver- 
tise again  for  bids  for  incandescent  electric  lighting.  In 
response  the  General  Electric  Company  submitted  the 
same  bid  as  before,  and  the  Westinghouse  Electric  & 
Manufacturing  Company  a  bid  for  the  entire  service  for 
the  gross  sum  of  $399,000.  The  contract  was  awarded  to 
the  latter  company  on  May  23,  1892.  The  total  saving 
upon  the  contract  for  incandescent  electric  lighting  was 
$1,275,720.  Adding  to  this  the  amount  saved  upon  the 
contract  for  arc  lighting,  we  have  a  total  saving  of  about 
$1,386,720,  a  sum  about  equal  to  the  entire  surplus  fund 
which  your  company  had  on  hand  after  winding  up  its 
affairs.  The  difficulties  involved  in  this  matter  were  not 
confined  to  questions  of  finance.  The  electric  light  plant 
was  to  be  of  enormous  size  —  two  or  three  times  as  great 


42  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

as  that  in  existence  at  the  time  in  the  business  district 
of  the  city  of  Chicago.  Failure  of  the  contractor  to  per- 
form, properly,  the  stipulations  of  his  contract  would  have 
involved  the  Exposition  in  serious  disaster.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ure to  add  that  the  Westinghouse  Company  complied 
fully  with  its  contract,  and  performed  its  huge  task  in  a 
manner  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  Mechanical  Department  was  closely  allied  to  the 
Electrical  Department.  The  latter  was  naturally  dependent 
upon  the  former.  Their  development  was  upon  parallel 
lines  and  for  a  portion  of  the  time  both  were  in  charge  of 
one  officer.  The  amount  of  power  and  light  which  the 
Exposition  would  require  could  not  be  definitely  ascertained 
in  advance.  Both  the  power  plant  and  the  lighting  system 
had  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  permit  great  and  frequent 
enlargements  as  found  necessary.  Power  and  light  were 
naturally  of  vital  importance  to  the  needs  of  the  Exposi- 
tion, and  yet,  for  perfectly  natural  causes,  these  departments 
were  often  subordinated  in  matters  of  detail  to  artistic 
requirements  and  the  demands  for  exhibit  space. 

The  Mechanical  Department  was  organized  with  J. 
C.  Slocum  as  mechanical  engineer,  who  entered  upon  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  on  March  2,  1891.  The  first  esti- 
mate was  for  a  plant  of  from  15,000  to  20,000  horse  power. 
As  finally  completed  the  plant  aggregated  29,830  horse 
power.  In  the  summer  of  1891  a  temporary  power  plant 
was  provided,  to  furnish  light  for  carrying  on  work  by 
night.  Besides  this  the  temporary  plant  supplied  power 
for  electric  motors  and  operated  pumps  for  fire  protection. 
The  installation  included  engines  which  aggregated  830 
horse  power,  two  500  horse  power  Babcock  and  Wil- 
cox  boilers,  and  three  Worthington  pumps  capable  of 
supplying  a  million  gallons  of  water  per  day.  All  the 
boilers,  engines,  and  pumps  were  furnished  by  the  manu- 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  43 

facturers  free  of  cost  to  your  company.  The  first  engine, 
as  well  as  the  first  electric  lights,  was  operated  on  October 
29,  1891.  The  plant  was  located  west  of  the  Mines  Building 
and  south  of  the  building  for  Transportation  Exhibits.  It 
was  used  continuously  until  April,  1893,  when  it  was 
removed. 

The  Henry  R.  Worthington  Company  offered  to  furnish, 
under  certain  conditions,  as  exhibits,  free  of  cost  to  the  Ex- 
position, four  pumps  of  an  aggregate  capacity  of  40,000,000 
gallons  of  water  per  day,  for  the  fountains  in  the  Court 
of  Honor.  This  offer  was  accepted  and  subsequently  two 
additional  pumps  were  accepted  from  the  same  company 
for  the  purpose  of  forcing  water  to  the  roofs  of  the 
highest  buildings  in  case  of  fire.  The  boiler  plant  was 
located  in  an  annex,  eighty  feet  wide,  extending  along  the 
south  side  of  Machinery  Hall.  A  similar  house  extended 
along  the  annex  to  Machinery  Hall.  In  these  two  buildings 
were  installed  fifty-two  boilers,  aggregating  over  20,000 
commercial  horse  power  capacity.  For  their  use  the 
Exposition  paid  $5.33  per  horse  power,  except  in  case  of 
some  of  the  later  contracts,  for  which  $6.20  per  horse  power 
was  paid.  The  engines  were  located  along  the  south  side 
of  Machinery  Hall  and  of  its  annex,  adjacent  to  the  boiler 
houses  referred  to.  They  were  supplied  by  the  manufac- 
turers as  exhibits,  free  of  cost  to  your  company,  except 
that  the  Exposition  paid  the  expense  of  operating  them. 
In  all  there  were  seventy-seven  engines,  aggregating  29,830 
horse  power. 

The  fuel  used  was  oil.  This  was  determined  upon  after 
much  deliberation  as  to  the  use  of  oil,  or  of  coal,  or  of 
gas  to  be  manufactured  on  the  grounds.  A  contract  was 
made  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  for  fuel  oil  at  70 
cents  a  barrel  prior  to  January  i,  1893,  and  72%  cents 
per  barrel  thereafter.  The  oil  was  received  by  pipe  line 


44  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

from  the  Standard  Oil  Company's  station  at  Whiting,  Ind., 
twenty-two  miles  distant,  and  was  delivered  into  tanks 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  grounds.  From  these 
tanks  it  was  pumped  to  the  boilers  under  pressure  deter- 
mined by  a  standpipe.  A  large  amount  of  machinery, 
and  devices  of  all  sorts,  for  use  in  the  Mechanical  Depart- 
ment were  furnished  free  as  exhibits. 

Mr.  Slocum  resigned  in  March,  1892,  and  Frederick 
Sargent,  the  electrical  engineer,  became  mechanical 
engineer  as  well.  In  February,  1893,  Mr.  Sargent  resigned, 
leaving  to  Charles  H.  Foster,  who  had  recently  entered 
the  service  of  your  company,  the  difficult  task  of  completing 
the  power  plant  in  time  for  the  opening  ot  the  Exposition. 
At  the  same  time  Richard  H.  Pierce  became  electrical 
engineer. 

The  2,000  horse  power  Allis  engine  was  the  only 
one  of  the  large  engines  in  the  incandescent  plant  which 
was  run  on  May  i,  1893,  but  several  others  were  started 
during  the  same  week.  A  few  were  delayed  for  several 
weeks  after  the  Exposition  was  opened.  That  this  plant 
was  in  condition  at  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  your 
company  is  indebted  to  the  energy  and  ability  of  Mr. 
Foster. 

The  Department  of  Water  Supply,  Sewerage,  and  Fire 
Protection  was  organized  in  November,  1890,  by  the 
appointment  of  W.  S.  MacHarg  as  engineer.  The 
task  of  this  department  was  to  supply  water  for  drinking, 
for  domestic  purposes,  fire  protection,  mechanical  uses,  and 
fountains,  and  to  construct  a  system  of  sewerage  which 
would  render  the  grounds  habitable  for  an  average  popu- 
lation of  200,000  per  day,  with  the  possibility  of  600,000 
on  some  days.  To  supply  water  for  domestic  uses  and 
fire  protection  the  most  economical  and  satisfactory 
arrangement  was  to  secure  water  from  the  neighbor- 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  45 

ing  Hyde  Park  tunnel  and  pumping  station.  This  was 
done  by  a  contract  with  the  city  whereby  the  Exposition 
agreed  to  erect  two  pumping  engines  at  the  Hyde  Park 
station,  the  city  agreeing  to  purchase  these  engines  at  cost 
when  the  Exposition  no  longer  required  them,  and  until 
then  to  supply  water  to  the  Exposition  at  a  sufficient 
pressure,  by  means  of  these  pumps,  at  the  cost  of  pumping, 
not  to  exceed  $20  per  million  gallons.  The  capacity  of 
the  engines  was  12,000,000  gallons  per  day  and  they  cost 
$196,415.71. 

The  water  for  the  fountains  in  the  Court  of  Honor 
was  supplied  by  means  of  the  Worthington  pumps,  here- 
tofore referred  to  in  connection  with  the  Mechanical 
Department,  the  pumps  being  erected  south  of  the  south- 
east corner  of  Machinery  Hall  and  supplied  by  a  tunnel 
five  feet  in  diameter  -and  165  feet  long,  taking  water  from 
the  south  end  of  the  south  canal.  Additional  fire  pro- 
tection for  the  high  roofs  was  also  furnished  from  this 
pumping  station.  About  thirty-two  miles  of  mains  and 
submains,  from  thirty-six  inches  to  four  inches  in  diameter, 
were  laid  in  the  park. 

As  it  was  known  that  sickness,  particularly  typhoid  fever, 
had  been  caused  by  impure  water  at  previous  expositions, 
and  as  there  was  much  complaint  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  water  supply  of  Chicago  at  this  time,  arrangements 
were  made  for  supplying  filtered  water  to  the  public  from 
100  Pasteur-Chamberland  filters  distributed  at  various 
points  through  the  grounds.  In  addition  to  this  precaution 
a  concession  was  granted  to  the  Waukesha  Hygeia  Mineral 
Springs  Company  for  the  sale  throughout  the  park  of 
water  from  springs  in  Southern  Wisconsin.  This  water, 
brought  more  than  a  hundred  miles  by  a  pipe  line  from 
the  spring  in  Waukesha,  was  received  into  a  cooling  plant 
and  thence  distributed  to  convenient  points,  where  it  was 


46  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

sold  at  i  cent  a  glass.  There  were  167  booths  for  the 
sale  of  this  water  and  372  taps  for  private  delivery. 

There  were  three  systems  for  caring  for  sewage.  First, 
for  the  roof  water,  which  was  collected  and  discharged 
directly  into  the  lagoons  or  into  Lake ;  Michigan  through 
pipe  sewers  at  the  most  convenient  points.  Second,  the 
roadways  and  grounds  were  drained  of  storm  water  by  a 
system  of  sewers  discharging  into  Lake  Michigan,  each 
system  being  provided  with  a  pump  well  and  pumps. 
Third,  sewers  for  domestic  service,  by  means  of  which 
sewage  was  pumped  to  the  Sewage  Cleansing  Works  in 
the  southeast  portion  of  the  grounds,  where  it  was  treated 
with  chemicals,  solidified,  and  burned. 

These  systems  were  used  in  Jackson  Park  only.  The 
Midway  Plaisance  was  drained  into  the  city  sewers. 

A  garbage  crematory  was  erected  near  the  Sewage 
Cleansing  Works  and  to  it  was  brought  all  the  garbage 
collected  upon  the  grounds  by  the  teams  of  the  Transpor- 
tation Department,  as  well  as  the  material  from  the  Sewage 
Cleansing  Works,  all  being  consumed  without  producing 
any  odor.  From  May  gih  to  November  ist,  5,009  tons  of 
garbage  were  burned,  90,116  gallons  of  fuel  oil  being 
required  for  the  purpose.  In  addition  1,854  tons  of  sludge 
cake  were  burned,  using  79,723  gallons  of  oil. 

Fire  hydrants  were  distributed  throughout  the  grounds 
and  the  floors  of  the  great  buildings.  Standpipes  for  fire 
protection  led  from  the  water  mains  to  the  roofs  of  all 
the  large  buildings.  They  were  supplied  with  hose-reels 
and  hose  upon  every  floor,  ready  to  furnish  streams  of 
water  at  an  instant's  notice.  A  pressure  of  seventy-five 
pounds  per  square  inch  was  maintained  upon  the  mains 
connected  with  the  Hyde  Park  pumping  station,  enough 
to  protect  the  roofs  of  the  Exposition  buildings  to  the 
height  of  100  feet.  For  protection  above  this  height  a 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  47 

secondary  system  was  constructed  connected  with  the 
Worthington  pumps,  upon  which  a  pressure  of  180  pounds 
was  maintained  constantly.  This  pressure  could  be 
increased  promptly  to  200  pounds  per  square  inch,  which 
would  have  afforded  forty  pounds  pressure  upon  the  high- 
est roofs.  One  thousand  hand  fire  extinguishers  were 
distributed  throughout  the  buildings,  and  concessionaires 
provided  over  800  more.  The  cost  of  standpipes,  reels,  hose, 
and  connections  was  $83,076.84.  The  amount  disbursed 
by  the  Exposition  for  water  and  sewerage  was  $944,492.20. 

The  details  of  the  work  of  this  department  are  fully  set 
forth  in  the  admirable  report  of  the  engineer,  W.  S.  Mac- 
Harg,  attached  to  the  report  of  the  director  of  works. 

The  Department  of  Transportation  was  ultimately 
merged  with  that  of  Construction,  but  as  its  work  is 
closely  allied  to  the  events  of  the  Exposition  season  I 
have  postponed  reference  to  it,  as  well  as  to  the  Medical 
Department,  Fire  Department,  etc.,  until  that  stage  in  the 
narrative  of  the  company's  work  is  reached.  All  of  the 
branches  of  the  Construction  Department  and  of  its  suc- 
cessor, the  Department  of  Works,  are  covered  in  the  report 
of  the  director  of  works  and  the  reports  of  his  chief  officers 
attached  thereto.  These  documents  are  with  the  Exposition 
files  in  the  possession  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum. 

The  winter  of  1891-92  was  open  and  favorable.  Owing 
to  this  fortunate  circumstance,  and  to  the  energy  of  the 
officers,  excellent  progress  was  made.  The  Woman's  Build- 
ing was  substantially  completed  by  March  19,  1892.  The 
Mines  Building  was  nearing  completion  at  the  same  time,  and 
the  dread  of  failure  to  accomplish  the  work  within  the  time 
given  was  lessened  materially  by  these  evidences  of  progress. 

The  needs  of  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary,  a  body 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  assembling  congresses  and 
conventions  in  connection  with  the  World's  Columbian 


48  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Exposition,  required  the  provision  of  several  large  con- 
vention halls.  The  plans  of  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago 
for  a  permanent  memorial  building  had  by  this  time 
matured,  and  in  its  aid  of  this  plan,  on  May  8,  1892,  the 
Exposition  appropriated  $200,000  with  the  understanding 
that  the  Art  Institute,  with  the  assistance  of  this  appropri- 
ation, would  construct  a  building  at  a  cost  of  $600,000 
which  should  be  used  by  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary 
for  its  purposes  during  the  Exposition  season  and  should 
revert  to  the  uses  of  the  Art  Institute  at  the  close  thereof. 
Such  in  brief  is  an  outline  of  the  inception  and  the 
early  development  of  the  work  of  construction.  This  report 
can  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  work  and  can  not  be 
expected  to  do  justice  even  to  its  most  prominent  features. 
For  all  the  many  details,  it  is  necessary  to  consult  the 
reports  of  the  director  of  works  and  of  his  chiefs,  and 
the  records  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings. 
This  committee  sat  almost  daily  from  the  spring  of  1890 
until  August,  1892.  It  was  composed  at  first  of  Messrs. 
Cregier,  Aldis,  Davis,  Medill,  Palmer,  Pike,  and  Schwab. 
Messrs.  Medill  and  Palmer  were  soon  succeeded  by 
Edward  T.  Jeffery  and  Robert  A.  Waller.  Mr.  Jeffery 
became  vice-chairman  and  presided  at  many  of  the  meet- 
ings in  the  absence  of  Mayor  Cregier.  The  duties  of  the 
committee  were  never  more  severe  than  during  the  first 
year  of  its  work,  when  meetings  were  held  daily  and  often 
extended  far  into  the  night.  President  Gage  met  regularly 
with  it,  being  ex  officio  a  member.  The  sense  of  the  grave 
responsibility  resting  upon  them  caused  all  the  members 
to  attend  punctually  and  to  give  the  work  their  undivided 
attention,  although  at  the  great  sacrifice  of  personal  con- 
venience. After  the  election  of  a  new  Board  of  Directors 
in  April,  1891,  the  membership  of  the  committee  was  some- 
what changed.  Of  the  old  members  Messrs.  Jeffery,  Gage, 


GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS.  49 

Waller,  and  Schwab  remained,  and  Edward  F.  Lawrence, 
William  P.  Ketcham,  and  George  W.  Saul'  were  added. 
Mr.  Jeffery  became  chairman.  During  the  year  that  suc- 
ceeded, the  work  of  receiving  bids  and  placing  contracts 
for  the  major  portion  of  the  work  was  accomplished. 
Before  the  close  of  the  year,  in  the  midst  of  the  great 
work  over  which  he  was  presiding,  Edward  T.  Jeffery 
resigned  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  Company,  which  required  his  removal 
from  Chicago.  Lyman  J.  Gage  succeeded  him  as  chairman, 
and  William  P.  Ketcham  became  vice-chairman.  The 
vacancy  in  the  committee  was  filled  by  the  appointment 
of  Henry  B.  Stone,  who  had  been  elected  a  director  and 
whose  presence  on  the  Board  and  in  the  committee  had 
been  earnestly  desired. 

Another  change  in  the  committee  occurred  during  the 
year.  This  was  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Waller  and  the 
appointment  of  Robert  C.  Clowry  in  his  place.  Mr. 
dowry  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Electricity, 
and  it  was  found  necessary  to  keep  the  electrical  work 
in  close  touch  with  that  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds 
and  Buildings,  and,  therefore,  Mr.  Waller  tendered  his 
resignation  in  order  that  Mr.  Clowry  might  become  a 
member.  Mr.  Waller  continued  his  arduous  service  as  a 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  of  the 
Insurance  Auxiliary  Committee,  and  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Liberal  Arts. 

Mr.  Stone,  by  his  intelligent  and  active  cooperation, 
soon  justified  the  opinion  which  had  been  held  as  to  the 
value  of  his  services.  In  April,  1892,  after  an  election  of 
directors,  when  the  committee  was  reappointed,  he  became 
the  chairman,  the  other  members  being  Messrs.  Gage, 
Ketcham,  Lawrence,  Schwab,  Pike,  and  Clowry. 

As  the   year    1892  advanced,  and  the  buildings  began 


50  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

to  take  on  the  appearance  of  completeness,  uneasiness  as 
to  the  future  was  universally  felt.  The  success  which 
had  been  achieved  in  pushing  the  work  rapidly  forward 
was  due  to  superb  organization  and  the  effective  control  of 
every  instrumentality  operative  within  the  grounds.  It  was 
felt  that  this  unity  of  control  was  about  to  come  to  an  end. 
As  the  director-general  and  his  exhibit  departments  moved 
upon  the  situation  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  the 
functions  for  which  they  were  constituted,  the  committee 
would  necessarily  cease  to  have  that  perfect  control  of  the 
situation  necessary  to  maintain  its  present  rate  of  progress. 
Many  anxious  conferences  were  held.  A  relaxation  of 
energy  at  this  time,  it  was  felt,  would  be  fatal.  The  finan- 
cial problem  was  yet  unsolved  and  was  likely  to  prove  a 
burden  sufficient  to  require  all  possible  strength.  It  was 
by  no  means  clear  that  the  work  of  construction,  under  the 
best  conditions,  could  be  completed  in  time,  especially  as 
during  the  approaching  winter  of  1892-93  the  construction 
and  installation  would  have  to  proceed  at  the  same  time. 
The  members  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings, 
confronted  with  the  contingencies  and  dangers  of  the  situa- 
tion, felt  that  even  if  the  price  of  efficiency  was  their  own 
effacement,  they  must  pay  the  price.  The  deliberations 
upon  this  subject  finally  led  to  the  creation  of  the  Council 
of  Administration  on  August  1 8, 1892.  This  will  be  referred 
to  in  Chapter  VII. 

To  the  Council  of  Administration  was  given  full 
authority  over  both  the  director-general  and  the  chief  of 
construction,  subsequently  called  the  director  of  works, 
thus  effecting  that  unification  of  control  which  had  been 
so  earnestly  desired.  With  the  creation  of  this  body  the 
splendid  services  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Build- 
ings came  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FINANCE     AND     WAYS     AND     MEANS. 

FROM  the  first  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
were  keenly  alive  to  the  magnitude  of    the  task 
which  the  Act  of    Congress  had  laid  upon   them. 
The  attitude  of  foreign  nations  toward  the  Exposi- 
tion could  not  be  learned  until  they  had   been  invited  to 
participate.     The  invitation  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  could  not  issue  until  a  site  had  been  tendered  and 
accepted,  plans  and  specifications  of  buildings  approved, 
and    satisfactory    guarantees    secured    to    the    effect    that 
$10,000,000  would  be  provided  by  your  company  "in  ample 
time  for  its  needful  use." 

Two  per  cent  of  the  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock 
was  paid  when  the  subscriptions  were  made,  to  create  a 
working  fund  for  the  use  of  the  preliminary  organization. 
Soon  after  its  organization  the  Board  of  Directors  called 
for  a  further  payment  of  18  per  cent  on  or  before  the  first 
Monday  in  June,  1890.  An  engraved  certificate  was  offered 
as  a  premium  for  the  payment  of  subscriptions  in  full, 
with  a  view  to  save  the  labor  of  collecting  the  smaller 
subscriptions  by  installments.  Payments  of  this  first  install- 
ment were  made  promptly  and  the  company  was  soon 
provided  with  a  fund  of  over  a  million  dollars. 

The  Board  of  Directors  determined  immediately  to  make 
further  efforts  to  increase  the  subscriptions  to  the  capital 
stock.  For  this  purpose  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was 

held  on  June  12,  1890,  and  the  authorized  capital  stock  of 

(sO 


52  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  company  was  increased  from  $5,000,000  to  $10,000,000. 
At  the  same  meeting  the  official  title  of  the  corporation 
was  changed  from  the  "World's  Exposition  of  1892  "  to  the 
"World's  Columbian  Exposition." 

It  was  hoped  that  a  considerable  amount  of  additional 
capital  stock  would  be  subscribed,  thus  increasing  the 
available  funds  of  the  company,  but  it  was  not  reasonable 
to  suppose  that,  after  the  vigorous  canvass  of  the  city 
made  to  secure  the  first  $5,000,000,  it  would  be  possible 
to  go  over  the  same  ground  and  raise  an  equal  amount. 
The  company  was  therefore  compelled  to  look  to  other 
sources  for  the  remainder  of  the  sum  which  Congress 
by  law  required  it  to  furnish.  There  was  but  one  other 
source,  namely,  an  issue  of  bonds  by  the  city  in  aid  of 
the  Exposition.  This  was  impossible  under  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  State,  the  city  having  already  a  bonded  debt 
as  great  as  the  constitution  permitted.  To  accomplish  the 
desired  result  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  an  amendment 
to  the  constitution.  The  situation  was  properly  represented 
to  the  Governor  of  the  State,  Hon.  Joseph  W.  Fifer,  who 
thereupon  convened  the  Legislature  in  special  session  on 
July  23,  1890.  The  Legislature  promptly  passed  a  joint 
resolution  authorizing  an  amendment  to  the  constitution 
of  the  State  and  providing  for  the  submission  of  the  same 
to  the  people  of  the  State  at  the  election  to  be  held  in 
the  following  November.  This  amendment  authorized  the 
city  of  Chicago  to  issue  $5,000,000  of  bonds  in  aid  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition.  It  received  a  substantially 
unanimous  vote  of  the  people  of  the  State.  In  presenting 
the  financial  needs  of  the  company  to  the  Governor  and 
to  the  State  Legislature  many  directors  were  active.  The 
newly  elected  secretary  of  the  Board,  Benjamin  Butter- 
worth,  took  up  his  duties  at  this  point  and  labored 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  work,  aided  by  the  presi- 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  53 

dent,  Mr.  Gage;  the  vice-president,  Mr.  Bryan;  the  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Legislation,  Mr.  Walker,  and  many 
others.  They  met  a  ready,  willing,  and  sympathetic  response, 
the  State  pride  and  enthusiasm  of  the  Governor  and  the 
members  of  the  Legislature  being  fully  aroused  and  equal 
to  the  occasion.  • 

The  two  committees  of  the  Board  of  Directors  charged 
with  the  different  branches  of  the  financial  problem  were 
the  Committee  on  Finance  and  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means.  It  was  really  the  duty  of  every  director  to 
further  the  financial  interests  of  the  corporation  in  every 
way  in  his  power,  and  each  one  labored  upon  its  details 
in  one  way  or  another. 

The  Committee  on  Finance  consisted  of  Mr.  Peck,  chair- 
man, and  Messrs.  Gage,  Higinbotham,  Keith,  and  Odell.  Its 
duties  related  to  the  general  direction  and  control  of  the 
financial  policy  of  the  company. 

The  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  was  a  larger  body, 
composed  of  thirteen  members.  As  first  organized,  it 
consisted  of  Otto  Young,  chairman,  with  Messrs.  Butler, 
Colvin,  Fish,  Higinbotham,  Keyes,  Kohlsaat,  Lawrence, 
McCormick,  McNally,  Nathan,  Wacker,  and  Waller.  This 
committee  had  charge  of  the  details  of  the  collection  of 
installments  upon  the  capital  stock  as  they  were  called  for, 
the  raising  of  money  by  new  subscriptions  to  capital  stock, 
the  granting  of  privileges  and  concessions  in  connection 
with  the  Exposition,  and  the  arrangement  of  a  system  for 
the  admission  of  visitors  during  the  Exposition  season. 

The  difference  between  these  two  committees  consisted 
in  this:  The  smaller  committee,  on  finance,  composed, 
with  one  exception,  of  leading  bankers,  was  an  advisory 
committee  on  the  larger  questions  of  financial  policy.  In 
addition  to  this,  it  exercised  general  supervision  over  the 
offices  of  the  auditor  and  the  treasurer.  Its  members  kept 


54  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

in  touch  with  the  larger  stockholders  of  the  company,  and 
especially  with  the  banks  of  the  city.  It  frequently  met 
for  conference;  it  recommended  to  the  Board  of  Directors, 
from  time  to  time,  when  installments  upon  the  capital 
stock  should  be  called  for.  It  was  the  center  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  movements  for  the  financial  support  of  the 
Exposition  and  of  efforts  to  interest  the  National  Govern- 
ment in  behalf  of  the  enterprise. 

The  larger  committee,  on  Way  and  Means,  composed 
of  active  business  men  engaged  in  mercantile  and  manu- 
facturing pursuits,  took  charge  of  the  work  of  soliciting 
and  collecting  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock,  and  map- 
ping out  the  details  for  securing  the  largest  financial 
returns  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  Exposition. 

The  Committee  on  Finance,  anticipating  the  ratification 
by  the  people  of  the  State  of  the  proposed  amendment 
to  the  constitution  providing  for  the  issue  of  bonds, 
approached  the  city  council  and  arranged  for  the  details 
of  this  issue.  Immediately  after  the  election  the  city 
council  adopted  an  ordinance  directing  the  sale  of 
$5,000,000  of  5  per  cent  bonds,  with  the  condition  that, 
before  the  proceeds  of  said  bonds  should  be  paid  into 
the  Exposition  treasury,  $3,000,000  should  be  collected 
from  stock  subscriptions. 

In  the  meantime  the  Committee  on  Finance,  with  the 
aid  of  the  treasurer,  had  carefully  examined  the  stock  sub- 
scription list,  and  made  an  estimate  of  the  amount  which 
would  probably  be  collected  thereupon.  In  this  estimate 
they  were  assisted  by  a  study  of  the  payments  made  upon 
the  first  installments,  in  the  previous  month  of  June. 
It  could  not  be  expected  that  the  entire  amount  would  be 
paid.  On  account  of  the  large  number  of  subscriptions — 
over  28,000  in  April,  1890 — and  the  great  number  of  sub- 
scribers for  small  amounts,  whose  ability  to  pay  could  be 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  55 

destroyed  by  a  small  change  of  circumstances,  it  was  but 
reasonable  to  assume  that  a  considerable  portion  would 
prove  delinquent,  and  that  some  part  of  this  delinquency 
could  not  be  collected.  The  officers  of  the  company  and 
the  committee  in  charge  were  agreeably  disappointed  in 
this  respect.  A  considerable  delinquency  occurred  at  first. 
This  was  greatly  reduced  from  time  to  time  until  finally  all 
but  7  per  cent  of  the  total  amount  subscribed  was  collected. 

Additional  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  had  been 
taken,  so  that  when  the  city  bonds  were  authorized  in 
November,  1890,  the  Committee  on  Finance  was  in  a  posi- 
tion to  state  that  whatever  delinquency  might  occur  would 
be  more  than  offset  by  new  subscriptions,  and  that  the 
Board  was  sure  of  realizing  $5,000,000  from  this  source. 
This  matter  was  submitted  to  the  World's  Columbian  Com- 
mission for  investigation,  in  common  with  other  matters 
which  the  Act  of  Congress  required  that  body  to  pass 
upon,  and  the  Commission,  by  resolution,  declared  itself 
satisfied  that  an  actual,  bona  fide,  legally  binding  subscrip- 
tion existed,  from  which  the  company  would  realize 
$5,000,000;  also  that  satisfactory  guarantees  existed  for 
$5,000,000  more,  thus  recognizing  that  the  obligation  placed 
upon  the  city  of  Chicago  by  the  Act  of  Congress  was 
fully  complied  with. 

The  financial  requirements  of  the  Act  of  Congress,  as 
well  as  the  requirements  as  to  site  and  plans,  were  brought 
to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  in  the  latter  part  of  November, 
1890,  and  thus  the  Board  was  placed  in  a  position  to  ask 
for  the  issuance  of  the  President's  proclamation  and  of 
the  invitations  to  the  nations  of  the  world  to  participate 
in  the  Exposition. 

Although  the  Act  of  Congress  imposed  upon  the  city 
of  Chicago  no  further  financial  duty  than  the  raising  of 
$10,000,000,  the  Board  of  Directors  had  no  thought  of 


56  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

resting  at  that  point.  Such  an  Exposition  as  the  dignity 
of  the  occasion  and  the  desires  of  the  nation  demanded 
could  not  have  been  prepared  for  this  amount.  Fifteen 
millions  of  dollars,  it  was  thought,  might  do  it,  but  those 
who  looked  farthest  into  the  future  and  studied  the  situa- 
tion most  carefully  placed  their  figures  considerably  higher. 
There  was  no  pledge  upon  the  part  of  the  National 
Government  to  aid  the  enterprise  financially,  beyond  paying 
the  actual  expenses  of  the  National  Commission  and 
providing  a  Government  Building  with  an  exhibit  of  the 
various  departments  of  the  United  States  Government. 
Nor  was  there  any  pledge  or  requirement  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  to  furnish  anything  in  excess  of  the  $10,000,000 
already  provided.  Nevertheless,  the  effort  to  obtain  new 
subscriptions  to  the  stock  was  pushed  vigorously.  The 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  opened  a  bureau  of 
subscriptions,  and  additional  subscriptions  were  taken  at 
all  times  during  the  preliminary  period  of  the  Exposition, 
almost  up  to  the  time  when  the  gates  were  opened.  It 
had  been  hoped  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  addi- 
tional $5,000,000  of  stock  authorized  might  be  secured,  and 
that  thus  the  financial  problem  might  be  materially  assisted, 
if  not  fully  solved.  The  total  amount  taken  in  subscriptions 
did  not  greatly  exceed  $6,000,000,  from  which  the  company 
realized,  up  to  June  30,  1894,  eight  months  after  the  close 
of  the  Exposition,  $5,614,425.86.  It  was,  indeed,  too  much 
to  expect  that  so  large  a  sum  as  $5,000,000  could  be 
secured  for  the  enterprise  from  a  community  which  already 
had  been  canvassed  and  pledged  for  a  like  sum.  In  a  city 
so  comparatively  young  as  ours,  and  without  the  great 
accumulations  of  wealth  existing  in  cities  of  greater  age,  the 
public  spirit  of  the  citizens  was  heavily  taxed  for  the 
amount  which  was  secured  and  it  was  difficult  to  obtain 
anything  more. 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  57 

As  soon  as  the  conditions  precedent  to  the  issuance  of 
the  President's  proclamation  were  satisfied,  the  work  of 
dredging"  and  filling  Jackson  Park  begun,  and  the  designing 
of  buildings  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  eminent  gentlemen 
of  the  Board  of  Architects,  the  Board  of  Directors  under- 
took to  ascertain,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  true  extent  of 
its  financial  problem.  A  Budget  Committee  was  formed, 
consisting  of  President  Gage  and  Messrs.  Baker,  dowry, 
Higinbotham,  Jeffery,  Keith,  Peck,  and  Young.  After  sev- 
eral weeks  of  careful  deliberation,  during  which  estimates 
were  received  from  the  Construction  Department  embracing 
every  part  of  its  work  as  it  then  appeared,  and  every 
department  under  the  director-general,  as  well  as  the  cor- 
porate officers  of  the  company,  the  committee  submitted 
the  following  estimates,  on  February  20,  1891,  to  the  Board 
of  Directors: 

ESTIMATE  OF  AMOUNT  REQUIRED  BY  THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSI- 
TION FOR  ALL  PURPOSES  UP  TO  OCTOBER  30,  1893. 

Grading  and  filling . $   450,400 

Landscape 323,490 

Viaducts  and  bridges 125,000 

Piers 70,000 

Waterway  improvements 225,000 

Water  supply  and  sewerage.. 600,000 

Railways  (not  including  the  Intramural  Railway)  500,000 

Art  Palace 600,000 

Agricultural  Building 800,000 

Passage  between  Agricultural  Building  and  Ma- 
chinery Hall. 30,000 

Machinery  Hall  and  Annex _ 1,200,000 

Administration  Building 500,000 

Mines  and  Electricity 550,000 

Horticultural  Hall 400,000 

Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts _  1 ,500,000 

Stock  show,  complete. 350,000 

Transportation  Building 375,000 

Annex 100,000 

Fisheries  Building _  240,000 

Woman's  Building _ 200,000 

Music  Pavilion _ 20,000 

Main  Colonnade 25,000 

Entrances 50,000 

Pier,  Casino 50,000 

Carried  forward..  .    $9,283,890 


58  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Brought  forward $9,283,890 

Storage  House  and  working  force  accommoda- 
tions  _ 25,000 

Construction  office 15 ,000 

Police   stations 20,000 

Outside  water  closets 20,000                    • 

Plumbing,  etc. ,  special  for  buildings 150,000 

Water  and  sewerage  for  buildings. 75,000 

Total.. .$9,588,890 

Steam  plant.... 800,000 

Electricity 1,500,000 

Miscellaneous  (statuary  on  buildings,  fuel  and  light  during 
construction,  vases,  lamps,  decorative  lamp-posts,  and 
seats) 178,000 

Total  for  Construction  Department $12,066,890 

Lake  Front  Park  (landscape,  viaducts,  fountains,  statues, 

etc.) 200,000 

General  expenses  of  Construction  Department  (salaries, 
architects'  fees,  rents,  labor,  and  material  until  build- 
ings are  removed) 500,000 

ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION. 

Departments  under  control  of  director-general.      Salaries 
and  expenses: 

Agricultural $        88,225 

Horticulture 91,975 

Live  Stock  and  Premiums 186,440 

Fish  and  Fisheries 38,575 

Mines  and  Mining... 66,025 

Machinery.. 109,000 

Transportation  Exhibits 39,850 

Manufactures 94,000 

Electricity 83,000 

Fine  Arts 103,800 

Liberal  Arts.... 100,000 

Ethnology  and  Archaeology... 150,000 

Forestry  and  Forest  Products 21,900 

Publicity  and  Promotion 300,000 

Foreign  Affairs 300,000 

Installation  Department 50,000 

Total  for  director-general's  departments 1 ,822,790 

Expenses  of  officers,  departments,  committees,  and  agencies 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  including  insurance,  claims, 
and  contingencies 1 ,395,800 

Expenditures  of  preliminary  organization  prior  to  April  4, 

1890 89,973 

Total  for  all  departments  of  the  Exposition  to 

May  i,  1893 $16,075,453 

Operating  expenses  May  i  to  October  30,  1893...        1,550,000 

$17,625,453 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  59 

This  was  the  first  careful  estimate  which  the  Board  had 
been  able  to  make,  and  was  of  value  as  a  basis  upon  which 
to  shape  the  financial  operations  of  the  company,  but,  as 
will  hereafter  appear,  it  fell  short  several  millions  of  dol- 
lars of  the  total  requirement  for  the  work.  The  estimated 
expenditures  for  construction  alone  were  $6,000,000  less  than 
the  actual  amount  disbursed  for  that  purpose,  and  operat- 
ing expenses  —  estimated  at  $1,550,000  —  actually  amounted 
to  $3,540,037.41. 

While  the  company  had  not  the  resources  necessary  to 
meet  its  estimated  expenditures,  the  directors  decided  that 
the  work  must  be  carried  on  upon  the  lines  laid  down. 
The  estimates  were  made  as  low  as  possible,  with  due 
regard  to  the  dignity  of  the  Exposition,  and  the  directors 
had  confidence  in  their  power  to  make  provision  for  the 
deficit  before  the  necessity  arose.  For  more  than  a  year 
to  come  the  company  would  have  resources  with  which  to 
meet  its  obligations,  and  in  the  meantime  efforts  could  be 
made  to  place  the  work  in  a  proper  light  before  the  coun- 
try, and  arouse  public  sentiment  to  its  support.  Little 
doubt  was  felt  that  aid  from  the  National  Government 
would  be  forthcoming,  provided  the  company  fulfilled  its 
duty,  administered  its  affairs  properly,  and  carried  the  work 
forward  energetically  upon  the  grand  plans  which  had 
been  adopted. 

As  before  stated,  20  per  cent  of  the  capital  stock  had 
been  called  for  by  June,  1890.  A  second  call  was  made 
for  20  per  cent  payable  June  i,  1891,  and  soon  after  this, 
as  heavy  payments  began  to  fall  due  upon  construction 
contracts  and  for  salaries  and  general  expenses,  a  third 
installment  was  called  for,  to  be  paid  on  September  i, 
1891.  These  installments,  if  paid  in  full  by  every  stock- 
holder, would  have  realized  over  $3,000,000,  and  would 
have  enabled  the  company  to  call  upon  the  city  govern- 


60  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

merit  for  the  proceeds  of  the  $5,000,000  of  the  city  bonds. 
The  inevitable  delinquency  of  a  part  of  the  subscriptions, 
which  had  to  be  collected  by  solicitors,  and  in  some  cases 
through  the  courts,  caused  the  amount  to  fall  short  of 
$3,000,000.  To  reach  the  desired  sum  without  calling  for 
a  fourth  installment,  the  Board  offered  a  premium  of  two 
tickets  of  admission  for  each  share  of  stock  paid  up  in  full 
before  a  certain  date.  This  inducement  was  specially 
intended  to  facilitate  the  collection  of  the  small  subscrip- 
tions. The  payments  made  in  response  to  this  offer 
brought  the  desired  result,  and  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, 1891,  the  city  government  was  requested  to  sell  the 
bonds  and  pay  the  proceeds  into  the  Exposition  treasury. 
Three  millions  of  dollars  of  its  bonds  were  sold  by  the 
city  to  Blair  &  Co.  of  New  York,  on  January  7,  1892, 
at  par  and  accrued  interest,  to  be  delivered  and  paid  for 
as  follows: 

February  1,  1892  .  ..$1,000,000 

February  15,  1892 500,000 

March  1,  1892 ...      500,000 

March  15,  1892  ... 500,000 

April  1,  1892   500,000 

Blair  &  Co.  also  obtained  an  option  to  purchase  the 
remainder  of  the  issue,  $2,000,000,  before  a  certain  date, 
and  by  August  2,  1892,  the  entire  proceeds  of  the  bonds 
issued  by  the  city  for  this  purpose  had  been  paid  into 
the  Exposition  treasury.  Meanwhile  the  fourth  install- 
ment of  20  per  cent  upon  the  stock  of  the  company  was 
paid  in,  April  isth,  and  the  fifth  installment  on  June  15, 
1892.  Thus  at  the  beginning  of  August  the  company  had 
gathered  into  its  treasury  all  its  available  resources. 

In  the  meantime  steps  had  been  taken  which  relieved 
the  situation  and  bridged  over  the  deficit  in  the  budget. 
The  early  warning  in  February,  1891,  that  such  a  deficit 
was  inevitable  had  given  the  Board  of  Directors  time  in 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  6 1 

which  to  act.  This  budget  was  published  more  than  a 
year  before  the  payment  of  the  last  installment  of  the 
capital  stock,  and  eighteen  months  before  the  full  amount 
of  the  stock  and  the  city  bonds  had  been  expended.  The 
utterances  of  Lyman  J.  Gage,  first  as  president  of  the 
company  and  afterward  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  and  of  its  Committee  on  Finance,  kept  this 
difficulty  clearly  in  the  minds  of  the  directors,  and  he  was 
tireless  in  urging  the  consideration  of  the  problem  and 
devising  means  for  its  solution.  At  the  close  of  his  term 
as  president  in  March,  1891,  he  submitted  to  the  Board  of 
Directors  a  report,  embodying  the  budget  estimates  as 
recently  prepared  and  presenting  concisely  and  clearly 
the  situation  of  the  company.  With  eloquent  and  stirring 
words  he  set  forth  the  high  and  dignified  character  of  the 
enterprise  in  which  the  company  was  engaged.  The 
report  carried  with  it,  also,  words  of  warning  as  to  the 
difficulties  which  beset  your  company,  and  his  language 
served  as  an  index  to  the  incoming  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  trust  accepted  by  it.  He  pointed 
to  the  fact  that  in  providing  more  than  $10,000,000  for  the 
enterprise,  Chicago  had  fulfilled  all  the  financial  conditions 
imposed  upon  her  by  the  Act  of  Congress.  He  asked: 

"Why,  having  done  this,  should  this  company  assume  the  burden 
and  risk  of  creating  an  exposition  to  cost  fifteen  or  sixteen  millions  of 
dollars?  Why  not,  instead,  limit  and  restrict  the  undertaking  to  a  cost 
of  $10,000,000,  unless  the  National  Government,  or  some  other  respon- 
sible and  equally  interested  party,  shall  first  agree  to  provide  the 
difference  ?  " 

In  answer  to  this  he  replies: 

"Neither  the  people  of  our  city,  of  our  State,  of  our  country,  or  of 
the  world  would  be,  or  ought  to  be,  satisfied  with  any  exhibition  that 
will  not  worthily  exemplify  the  progress  of  the  world  in  art,  science, 
and  industry,  and  which  will  not  typify  the  highest  achievements  in 
architecture,  in  art,  and  in  all  things  which  illustrate  the  utilization 
by  man  of  the  resources  and  powers  of  nature." 


62  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

He  pointed  to  the  fact  that  M.  Berger,  late  director- 
general  of  the  Universal  Exposition  of  1889  at  Paris,  after 
careful  study  of  the  conditions  existing  at  Chicago,  had 
named  $17,000,000  as  his  estimate  of  the  capital  needed 
for  this  purpose,  an  amount  which  was  in  striking  coinci- 
dence with  the  total  named  in  the  budget  given  above. 

Frequent  warnings  of  a  semi-official  character  had  been 
received  that  this  company  and  the  city  of  Chicago  must 
not  expect  aid  from  the  National  Government.  The  dis- 
appointment of  other  cities  which  had  competed  for  the 
location  of  the  Exposition  was  an  additional  reason  for 
doubt  as  to  the  possibility  of  securing  aid  from  the 
national  treasury,  yet  it  was  the  firm  belief  of  Mr.  Gage, 
as  of  every  other  director,  that  when  this  company  and 
this  city  had  met,  and  more  than  met,  its  fair  share  of  the 
enormous  cost  of  this  great  work,  in  which  every  citizen 
of  the  republic  was  interested,  the  generous  recognition 
and  cooperation  of  those  outside  of  our  municipal  bound- 
aries could  be  reasonably  demanded.  Finally,  if  this 
expectation  should  not  be  realized,  there  remained  a  last 
alternative  of  carrying  the  enterprise  through  and  com- 
pelling the  patriotic  citizens  of  Chicago  to  bear  the  heavy 
burden  unaided.  That  this  alternative  would  have  been 
met  had  the  necessity  arisen,  no  true  citizen  of  Chicago 
will  doubt  for  a  moment. 

To  foster  the  interest  of  the  world  at  large  in  the 
Exposition,  a  commission  was  sent  to  Europe  in  the 
summer  of  1891,  just  as  the  construction  of  the  buildings  was 
fairly  begun,  and  the  diplomatic  corps  at  Washington  was 
invited  to  make  a  visit  to  Chicago  in  a  body  to  inspect  the 
work  and  the  plans.  The  Department  of  Publicity  and  Pro- 
motion used  every  effort  to  spread  reliable  information  and 
to  create  a  favorable  sentiment  regarding  the  Exposition. 

The  Fifty-second  Congress  was  to  assemble  in  December, 


FINANCE  AND    WA  YS  AND  MEANS.  63 

1891,  and  the  Board  of  Directors  determined  that  an  appeal 
to  this  body  should  be  made  with  a  view  to  securing  proper 
financial  recognition.  In  preparation  for  this  appeal,  the 
Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  on  August  31,  1891, 
submitted  a  brief  report,  setting  forth  its  operations  to 
that  date,  the  organization  of  the  Construction  Department 
and  the  work  done  thereby.  This  report  is  the  next  pub- 
lished utterance  as  to  the  progress  of  the  work  after  the 
report  of  Mr.  Gage  made  six  months  before.  It  marked 
another  stage  in  the  enterprise,  for  in  the  meantime  the 
buildings,  with  two  exceptions,  had  been  placed  under  con- 
tract and  the  work  was  advancing  rapidly.  Sufficient  time 
had  not  elapsed,  however,  to  reveal  the  true  proportions 
of  the  enterprise  and  to  show  how  inadequate  even  the 
large  amount  named  in  the  budget  was  destined  to  prove. 
Nevertheless,  something  of  the  true  situation  was  beginning 
to  be  felt.  While  the  figures  of  the  budget  of  February, 
1891,  were  quoted  almost  without  change,  they  were  not 
looked  upon  as  the  limit  of  the  expenditures. 
The  committee  said: 


"The  scope  of  the  Exposition  has  grown  upon  your  committee  as 
the  work  has  progressed.  It  has  appeared  to  us  that  the  preliminary 
estimates  of  the  cost  of  the  work  are  entirely  inadequate  to  such  an 
exposition  as  the  people  of  the  United  States  expect  to  be  produced 
under  national  auspices.  The  classification  comprises  exhibits  on  an 
enormous  scale,  in  departments  heretofore  either  wholly  ignored  or 
lightly  treated  in  great  expositions  or  made  the  subjects  of  special 
expositions  at  great  expense. 

"At  the  Exposition  of  1893  all  branches  of  human  industry  will 
be  included,  on  a  complete  and  comprehensive  scale.  This  requires 
that  each  department  should  have  for  its  installation  a  building  and 
grounds  such  as  have  previously  been  considered  unnecessary  or  impossi- 
ble in  great  expositions.  The  area  embodied  in  the  Exposition  grounds 
will  be  nearly  three  times  that  of  the  greatest  exposition  heretofore  held. 
The  separate  departments  of  Agriculture,  Electricity,  Mines,  Horticul- 
ture, and  Transportation  especially  will  each  be  developed  on  a  scale  that 
has  not  been  produced  even  where  they  have  been  made  the  subjects  of 
special  expositions. 


64  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

' '  The  great  dimensions  of  the  Exposition  are  not  due  to  any  extrava- 
gant ideas  of  your  committee,  but  are  forced  upon  us  by  the  comprehen- 
siveness of  the  plan  and  scope  set  forth  in  the  classification  adopted 
by  the  Commission,  as  authorized  by  the  Act  of  Congress.  Your  com- 
mittee, however,  heartily  concurs  with  the  Commission  that  in  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  Exposition,  all  features,  whether  relating  to  the  compre- 
hensive display  of  exhibits,  the  beauty  of  the  grounds,  the  style  of  the 
buildings,  the  convenience  of  visitors,  facilities  for  transportation,  deco- 
rations, or  general  beauty,  must,  in  order  to  keep  pace  with  American 
progress  and  enterprise,  be  in  advance  of  any  of  its  predecessors,  and 
the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  demand  that 
all  of  these  conditions  be  fully  met.  To  do  this,  expenditures  on  a  scale 
larger  than  was  originally  estimated  are  necessary  and,  indeed,  absolutely 
indispensable. " 

By  this  language  the  committee  sought  to  show  clearly 
the  fact  that  the  Exposition  company  was  not  responsible 
for  the  scope  of  the  enterprise,  but  was  simply  endeavor- 
ing to  provide  for  a  national  undertaking  that  should  be 
adequate  to  the  requirements  of  the  classification  of  exhibits 
prepared  by  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  and  that 
some  portion,  at  least,  of  the  burden  of  this  undertaking 
should  be  borne  by  the  nation  at  large. 

The  World's  Columbian  Commission,  at  its  meeting  in 
the  fall  of  1891,  gave  its  indorsement  to  the  work,  as  under- 
taken by  the  company,  and  adopted  a  resolution  approv- 
ing the  project  of  appealing  to  Congress  for  a  loan  in  aid 
of  the  Exposition.  The  directors,  however,  had  no  inten- 
tion of  asking  for  a  loan.  They  did  not  consider  it  proper 
that  the  Government,  in  granting  financial  aid  to  this 
national  undertaking,  after  the  city  had  expended  over 
$10,000,000  upon  it,  should  receive  in  return  a  first  lien 
upon  the  proceeds  of  the  entire  investment.  Further  than 
this,  a  loan  of  $5,000,000  secured  by  a  first  lien  upon  the 
resources  of  the  Exposition  would  have  fallen  short  of 
meeting  the  company's  requirements  by  at  least  $2,000,000, 
even  under  the  budget  of  February,  1891,  and  at  the  same 
time  would  have  exhausted  the  company's  capacity  to 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  65 

borrow.  There  was  no  need  of  going  to  Congress  for  this 
kind  of  a  loan.  It  could  have  been  placed  at  home.  What 
the  company  insisted  upon  as  the  proper  expression  of  the 
financial  responsibility  of  the  Government  toward  the 
Exposition  was  an  appropriation  in  its  aid  without  any 
requirement  as  to  repayment — in  other  words,  a  gift. 

In'  December,  1891,  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  appointed  committees  on  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition.  A  bill  was  introduced  providing  for  an 
appropriation  of  $5,000,000  in  aid  of  the  Exposition.  A 
subcommittee  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  visited  Chicago  on  March  30, 1892, 
and  conducted  an  investigation  in  open  session  until  April 
8th.  The  committee  then  adjourned  to  Washington,  where 
the  investigation  was  continued,  and  on  May  20,  1892,  pre- 
sented to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  report  which  was 
ordered  to  be  printed.  This  report  filled  689  pages  of 
closely  printed  matter  and  included  estimates  from  several 
standpoints  as  to  the  total  receipts  and  disbursements  of 
the  company.  The  magnitude  of  the  report  of  this  investi- 
gation illustrates  the  great  number  and  importance  of  the 
operations  already  under  way  in  connection  with  the 
Exposition.  This  report  includes  an  estimate  of  expendi- 
tures to  May  i,  1893,  amounting  to  $16,956,684.92,  nearly 
$1,000,000  more  than  the  total  of  requirements  in  the  budget 
of  February,  1891,  prepared  more  than  a  year  before. 
This  increase  was  made  in  spite  of  the  most  determined 
efforts  to  cut  down  estimates  to  the  lowest  possible  limit, 
and  to  present  to  Congress  the  most  favorable  showing 
consistent  with  the  facts  of  the  case.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
this  estimate  could  very  justly  have  been  increased  by  a 
large  amount.  On  the  other  hand,  the  work  was  still  in 
that  period  of  transition  when  parts  of  the  plans  were 
being  enlarged  and  changed  from  day  to  day,  and  when 


66  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

it  was  more  difficult  to  arrive  at  reliable  estimates  for  the 
various  branches  than  either  at  the  beginning  or  later 
when  the  work  had  reached  a  more  definite  stage.  Noth- 
ing could  be  truthfully  said  of  the  situation  except  that 
large  and  unexpected  increases  in  the  expenditures  of  every 
department  might  be  required  to  enable  it  to  meet  fully 
the  probable  demands. 

The  report  of  the  Congressional  Committee  closed  with 
the  following  tribute  to  the  Exposition: 

In  closing  this  report  your  committee  express,  without  reserve,  their 
confidence  in  the  assured  success  of  the  Exposition.  In  every  essential 
feature  it  stands  unrivaled  in  all  time.  Fifty-six  nations  and  colonies 
have  accepted  the  invitation  to  participate  in  the  enterprise,  and  have 
appropriated  $3,783,000  for  that  purpose.  It  is  expected  that  twenty 
other  foreign  nations  will  also  be  represented.  Complete  exhibits  will 
be  made  by  all  countries  which  promise  attendance,  twenty-six  of  which 
will  erect  special  buildings  for  their  own  displays.  Thirty  States  and 
Territories  of  our  own  Republic  will  erect  buildings  and  make  special 
exhibits,  for  which  $3,182,500  has  already  been  provided.  It  becomes 
obvious,  therefore,  that  the  expenditures  of  the  local  corporation,  of 
individual  enterprises  of  the  States  and  Territories,  and  of  our  own  and 
of  all  foreign  governments,  will  reach  the  stupendous  aggregate  of  not 
less  than  $30,000,000*  for  Exposition  purposes. 

In  its  scope  and  magnificence  the  Exposition  stands  alone.  There 
is  nothing  like  it  in  all  history.  It  easily  surpasses  all  kindred  enter- 
prises, and  will  amply  illustrate  the  marvelous  genius  of  the  American 
people  in  the  great  domains  of  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures, 
and  inventions,  which  constitute  the  foundation  upon  which  rests  the 
structure  of  our  national  glory  and  prosperity. 

After  the  Congressional  Committee  had  reported,  vig- 
orous efforts  were  made  to  secure  an  appropriation  of 
$5,000,000  in  aid  of  the  Exposition.  The  difficulties  in  the 
way  can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  They  included  every 
kind  of  misrepresentation  and  criticism,  often  unjust  and 
arising  from  failure  to  appreciate  the  character  of  the 
undertaking.  Moreover,  the  political  situation  entered  into 

*  The  total  disbursements  of  the  Exposition  Company  alone  to  June  i,  1894,  were 
$27,245,566.90.  The  estimate  of  $30,000,000  in  the  Congressional  report  as  the  total 
expenditures  from  all  sources  was  too  small. 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  67 

the  case  and  complicated  the  difficulties  of  the  task.  A 
presidential  election  was  approaching,  and  public  measures, 
especially  appropriations,  were  affected  by  their  supposed 
bearing  upon  this  event.  It  was  intimated  that  if  the 
company  would  accept  a  loan  instead  of  a  direct  appro- 
priation, this  form  of  aid  might  be  secured.  The  Board 
of  Directors  rejected  this  proposition,  and,  moreover,  refused 
to  be  put  in  the  attitude  of  suppliants  for  favor,  rather  than 
that  of  persons  conscious  of  the  justice  of  their  demands. 
The  struggle  continued  through  June  and  July,  and  it 
became  apparent  that  the  bill  would  not  pass.  The  time 
approached  for  Congress  to  adjourn^  and  in  the  meantime 
the  company  had  entered  into  contracts  in  excess  of  the 
total  amount  of  its  capital  stock  increased  by  the  proceeds 
of  the  city  bonds.  Deep  anxiety  was  felt.  Still  there  was 
no  thought  of  changing  the  request  for  an  appropriation 
to  a  request  for  a  loan.  The  Committee  on  Finance  quietly 
conferred  with  prominent  stockholders  and  wealthy  citizens, 
and  had  in  hand  a  half -formed  plan  which  provided  that 
in  case  the  loan  were  tendered,  it  would  be  promptly 
rejected,  and  the  entire  amount  necessary  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Exposition  be  raised  by  a  loan  in  Chicago. 

Owing  to  the  opposition  a  change  of  tactics  was  thought 
advisable.  After  consultation  among  the  friends  of  the 
Exposition,  a  bill  was  prepared  and  introduced  early  in  July, 
1892,  instructing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  have 
coined,  out  of  the  uncurrent  subsidiary  coin  in  the  Treasury, 
five  millions  of  dollars,  in  Columbian  half  dollars,  the 
devices  and  designs  of  which  should  be  prescribed  by  the 
Director  of  the  Mint,  said  coins  to  be  paid  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  upon 
estimates  and  vouchers  certified  to  by  the  president  and 
by  the  director-general,  "for  the  purpose  of  completing  in 
a  suitable  manner  the  work  of  preparation  for  inaugurating 


68  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  World's  Columbian  Exposition."  In  the  House  action 
on  this  bill  was  delayed  from  time  to  time.  In  the  Senate 
the  feeling  toward  the  Exposition  was  more  friendly,  and, 
as  the  outlook  for  action  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
became  less  promising,  the  Senate  attached  the  souvenir 
coin  bill  to  the  sundry  civil  bill  and  returned  the  latter 
to  the  House  with  this  amendment.  Conference  between 
the  two  Houses  ensued,  and  finally  the  House,  by  a  small 
majority,  voted  to  instruct  its  conferees  to  agree  to  the 
Senate's  amendment.  Just  at  this  point  occurred  a  most 
remarkable  case  of  "filibustering."  A  motion  to  reconsider 
the  vote  instructing  the  House  conferees  to  agree  to  the 
Senate's  amendment  was  made,  and  several  days  wore  away 
in  dilatory  motions  and  parliamentary  tactics  for  the  pur- 
pose of  tiring  out  the  friends  of  the  bill  and  defeating  the 
appropriation.  Members  were  anxious  for  adjournment. 
There  was  nothing  to  prevent  but  the  sundry  civil  bill, 
the  passage  of  which  was  necessary  to  the  conduct  of  the 
Government.  Had  this  bill  passed  without  the  souvenir 
coin  amendment,  the  friends  of  the  Exposition  could  not 
have  held  Congress  together  to  pass  an  appropriation  for 
the  Exposition.  A  day  was  fixed  for  adjournment,  and  as 
the  time  drew  near  the  anxiety  to  secure  the  passage  of 
the  sundry  civil  bill  increased.  The  Senate  was  stanch 
in  support  of  the  Exposition  measure.  Finally,  both 
parties,  weary  of  the  controversy  and  suffering  from  the 
intense  heat  of  August  in  Washington,  agreed  upon  a  com- 
promise. The  Senate  amendment  was  stricken  from  the 
sundry  civil  bill  and  a  bill  was  introduced  for  the  appro- 
priation of  $2,500,000  in  Columbian  half  dollars,  instead  of 
the  $5,000,000  named  in  the  original  measure.  Both  bills 
passed  without  opposition  and  the  souvenir  coin  measure 
became  a  law  by  approval  of  the  President  on  August 
5,  1892.  The  appropriation  was  coupled  with  a  con- 


FINANCE  AND    WA  YS  AND  MEANS.  69 

dition  that  the  Exposition  should  be  closed  to  the  public 
on  Sundays. 

These  5,000,000  of  half  dollars  would  have  yielded  to 
the  Exposition,  at  par,  only  $2,500,000,  and  the  measure 
was  a  compromise  consented  to  with  a  bad  grace  by  the 
enemies  of  the  Exposition,  and  accepted  with  a  like  spirit 
by  its  friends.  Immediately  afterward  a  plan  was  devised 
for  selling  these  coins  at  a  premium,  thus  obtaining  for  the 
Exposition  something  more  than  the  par  value  of  the  issue. 

The  passage  of  this  act  cleared  the  financial  horizon, 
as,  by  the  aid  of  the  sum  appropriated,  it  was  possible  to 
obtain  the  amount  still  required  to  complete  the  work. 
Upon  the  credit  established  by  this  appropriation  and  the 
other  financial  resources  of  the  company  steps  were  immedi- 
ately taken  to  float  an  issue  of  $5,000,000  of  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  6  per  cent  debenture  bonds.  Four 
millions  of  dollars  of  these  bonds  were  authorized  first, 
with  the  proviso  that  the  entire  issue  should  not  exceed 
$5,000,000.  Later  the  fifth  million  was  also  authorized. 
In  the  fall  of  1892  the  Committee  on  Finance  undertook 
the  double  task  of  selling  the  Columbian  half  dollars  at  $i 
each  and  floating  this  issue  of  bonds.  A  design  was  pre- 
pared for  the  Columbian  half  dollars,  bearing  suitable 
inscriptions,  with  a  profile  following  the  Lotto  portrait  of 
Columbus  upon  the  obverse  and  a  Spanish  caravel  upon 
the  reverse.  The  time  required  for  the  preparation  of  the 
dies  and  the  minting  of  the  coin  delayed  the  delivery  of 
the  first  half  dollars  until  winter.  Nearly  a  million  of 
them  were  received  during  December,  1892,  and  after  this 
time  they  were  delivered  as  rapidly  as  the  mint  could  manu- 
facture them. 

Meanwhile  the  city  was  thoroughly  canvassed  for  the 
sale  of  bonds.  They  were  taken  by  wealthy  citizens  and 
by  the  banks.  The  latter  agreed  among  themselves  that 


70  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

each  bank  would  subscribe  for  bonds  to  the  amount  of  5 
per  cent  of  its  capital  and  surplus.  Upward  of  $3,600,000 
were  taken,  dated  November  i,  1892.  These  bonds  were 
redeemable  at  the  option  of  the  company  at  any  time  after 
May  i,  1893,  and  payable  absolutely  on  January  i,  1894. 
The  company  had  the  option  of  paying  at  any  time  upon 
these  bonds  installments  of  not  less  than  20  per  cent  of 
their .  face. 

It  was  found  difficult  to  place  any  more  bonds  after 
the  amount  named  above  had  been  taken.  The  financial 
situation  was  becoming  threatening  throughout  the  country. 
An  uneasiness  over  the  Government's  financial  policy  and 
a  tightening  of  the  money  market  were  felt  everywhere. 
In  fact,  what  is  now  remembered  as  the  "panic  of  1893" 
was  approaching.  Nevertheless,  the  work  must  go  on. 
Payments  upon  contracts  were  being  made  at  the  rate  of 
nearly  a  million  dollars  a  month,  and  this  average  was 
expected  to  be  maintained  until  the  Exposition  opened. 

Previous  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  appropriating  the 
Columbian  half  dollars,  the  auditor  and  the  Committee  on 
Finance  had  undertaken  to  compile,  from  data  presented 
to  them  by  the  director-general,  the  chief  of  construction, 
and  other  officers,  a  new  budget  of  estimates  which  could 
be  relied  upon  as  a  statement  of  the  total  requirements  for 
all  departments  of  the  work.  The  Council  of  Adminis- 
tration, to  whom  had  been  committed  the  functions  of  the 
Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  had  found  the  budget 
of  February,  1891,  totally  inadequate.  It  had  been  out- 
grown, was  useless  and,  in  fact,  misleading.  Some  of  the 
buildings  had  cost  less  than  the  original  estimates,  but 
numberless  features  of  decoration  and  embellishment,  and 
very  many  small  buildings  and  structures  of  all  sorts,  had 
not  figured  at  all  in  the  first  budget.  A  few  instances  will 
serve  to  illustrate.  The  item  of  painting  and  decoration. 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  71 

one  of  much  importance,  did  not  appear  in  the  first  budget, 
except  that  under  the  head  of  "  miscellaneous  "  an  item  of 
$50,000  had  been  entered  for  vases,  lamps,  and  decorative 
lamp-posts.  In  August,  1892,  painting  and  decorating  was 
set  down  at  a  total  of  $606,000,  nearly  $25,000  of  which  had 
already  been  paid  for,  and  $85,000  more  was  due  on  obliga- 
tions incurred.  In  the  first  budget  the  items  of  grading  and 
filling,  landscape  work,  viaducts  and  bridges,  and  waterway 
improvements  amounted  to  an  aggregate  of  only  $1,123,890, 
whereas,  in  August,  1892,  the  estimates  for  grading  and 
filling,  bridges,  terraces,  interior  docking,  walks  and  road- 
ways, landscape  department,  and  viaducts  amounted  to 
$1,562,545.23.  Statuary  in  the  first  budget  was  estimated  at 
$100,000.  In  August,  1892,  statuary  and  the  grand  fountain 
were  estimated  at  $320,000.  In  the  first  budget  no  estimate 
whatever  was  made  for  guarding  the  buildings  and  exhibits 
prior  to  May  i,  1893,  probably  on  the  theory  that  this  item 
would  be  inconsiderable  before  that  date.  The  Budget  Com- 
mittee overlooked  the  fact  that  an  efficient  guard  service 
can  not  be  created  in  a  short  time  or  without  expense,  and 
in  August,  1892,  the  estimate  for  the  guard  prior  to  May 
i,  1893,  amounted  to  $450,000.  Piers  in  the  first  budget 
were  entered  at  $70,000;  in  August,  1892,  piers  and  break- 
waters amounted  to  $372,544.74.  It  may  be  remarked  that 
few  of  the  estimates  given  above  corresponded  to  the  sums 
actually  expended  for  the  items  named,  but  proved  to  be 
almost  as  defective  as  those  which  they  supplanted. 

The  causes  which  prevented  the  making  of  reliable 
estimates  were  two: 

First.  The  entire  lack  of  experience  in  your  officers  as 
to  the  requirements  of  an  Exposition  of  this  magnitude. 

Second.  The  well-known  fact  that  artists  and  men  of 
highly  cultivated  artistic  instincts  are  often  not  well  adapted 
for  dealing  with  the  practical  details  of  business  and  finance 


72  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

and  of  confining  themselves  strictly  to  a  line  and  a  limit 
of  expenditures.  I  make  this  comment  without  the  least 
desire  to  criticise  any  persons  who  were  engaged  in  the  work 
of  creating  our  Exposition.  I  feel  that  I  am  repeating-  a 
well-known  fact,  the  truth  of  which  none  will  dispute. 

The  budget  of  August,  1892,  proved  unreliable  almost 
before  it  had  been  finished  and  its  total  ascertained.  Grave 
oversights  and  startling  omissions  appeared,  and  the  whole 
had  to  be  revised.  Finally,  on  September  3oth,  what  was 
thought  to  be  a  reliable  budget  was  completed,  showing  an 
estimated  total  for  construction  of  $17,094,164.03,  and  for 
all  other  branches  of  $2,343,663.13,  making  the  total  for  the 
Exposition  from  the  inception  of  the  work  to  May  i,  1893, 
$19,437,827.16.  This  budget  showed  an  increase  over  that 
of  February  20,  1891,  of  $3,362,374.16. 

The  resources  of  the  Exposition  by  which  this  expen- 
diture was  to  be  met  were  at  this  time  estimated  as  follows: 

From  capital  stock  and  city  bonds $10,700,000 

Sale  of  Exposition  bonds. 4,000,000 

Souvenir  coins _ _      2,500,000 

Gate  receipts  prior  to  May  i,  1893,  interest 

on  bank  deposits,  etc'. 330,000 

Total $17,530,000 

This  estimate  showed  a  deficit  of  $1,907,827.16.  This 
sum  was  reduced  by  $422,000,  being  the  amount  which  it 
was  expected  would  be  received  by  the  company  for  work 
done  for  exhibitors,  foreign  and  State  commissioners,  and 
others,  which  amount  the  company  subsequently  collected. 
To  meet  the  net  deficit  the  company  had  the  reserve  of 
$1,000,000  of  bonds  previously  authorized  by  the  Board  and 
the  premiums  which  it  expected  to  receive  upon  the  Colum- 
bian half  dollars.  Thus  the  financial  situation  was  by  no 
means  hopeless,  and  had  this  budget  marked  the  limit  of 
the  company's  expenditures,  and  had  not  Congress  subse- 
quently diverted  a  part  of  its  appropriation,  your  officers 


FINANCE  AND   WAYS  AND  MEANS.  73 

would  have  had  but  little  cause  for  anxiety  at  any  time 
after  Congress  had  made  the  appropriation  of.  the  souvenir 
coins.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  budget,  after  being 
approved,  on  October  i;th,  by  the  Committee  on  Finance 
and  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  passing  into  operation, 
began  to  exhibit  signs  of  weakness  before  the  ist  of  Decem- 
ber, and  by  the  middle  of  that  month  the  work  of  budget 
making  had  to  be  done  over  again.  The  task  seemed  hope- 
less. The  directors  were  in  the  hands  of  the  officers  of 
their  Department  of  Works.  This  department  was  finely 
organized;  it  had  accomplished  marvelous  results;  its  de- 
mands for  appropriations  had  been  promptly  met,  that  it 
might  not  be  hampered  in  its  great  struggle  against  time. 
But  one  purpose  inspired  your  Finance  Committee,  your 
Executive  Committee,  and  your  president,  and  this  was  to 
support  the  efforts  of  the  Department  of  Works  and,  at  all 
costs,  to  furnish  the  means  with  which  to  complete  their 
magnificent  work.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  feeling 
that  no  matter  how  great  we  might  make  the  total  of  our 
estimates,  it  could  not  be  relied  upon  as  the  limit  of 
requirement.  The  suspicion  arose  that  details  were  some- 
times withheld  for  presentation  at  a  more  convenient 
season.  This  was  groundless,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  natural 
that  such  suspicions  should  arise  in  the  midst  of  the  excite- 
ment of  the  struggle  to  provide  means. 

On  January  i,  1893,  a  new  budget  was  completed,  the 
total  of  which  for  the  Department  of  Works  was  $17,668,- 
604.95,  an  increase  of  $574,440.92.  The  most  that  can  be 
said  of  this  budget  is  that  it  was  about  as  reliable  as  that 
which  preceded  it. 

Under  the  agreement  creating  the  Council  of  Admin- 
istration (see  Chapter  VII)  that  body  could  expend  no 
moneys  except  such  as  had  first  been  appropriated  by  the 
Board  of  Directors  or  its  Executive  Committee.  The 


74  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

approval  of  the  budget  constituted  an  appropriation  of  the 
amounts  named  therein,  and  when  a  budget  item  was 
exhausted  the  Council  had  no  recourse  but  to  refer  any 
requests  to  the  Executive  Committee,  with  the  statement 
that  the  item  to  which  the  expenditure  was  chargeable  was 
already  exhausted.  These  statements  began  to  appear 
frequently  a  month  after  the  adoption  of  the  budget  of 
September  30,  1892,  and  did  not  cease  for  more  than  a  week 
or  two  after  the  adoption  of  the  budget  of  January,  1893. 
From  this  time  on  these  statements  appeared  with  monoto- 
nous regularity  at  each  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
and  it  usually  occurred  that,  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
work,  the  appropriation  asked  was  for  the  payment  of  an 
obligation  which  the  director  of  works  or  some  one  of  his 
staff  had  already  taken  the  responsibility  of  incurring.  This 
latter  practice  was  most  unbusiness-like  and  dangerous,  and 
yet  could  scarcely  have  been  avoided  at  some  stages  of  the 
work.  There  was  not  a  head  of  a  bureau  or  division  in 
the  entire  Construction  Department,  from  its  chief  down, 
but  felt  that  the  Board  of  Directors  would  probably 
pardon  him  for  exceeding  his  authority  providing  he 
accomplished  his  work,  wherein  a  failure  would  have 
been  unpardonable. 

Exposition  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $3,700,000  had  been 
sold.  The  proceeds  melted  rapidly  away.  About  $400,000 
in  souvenir  coins  was  received  from  the  Mint  by  January 
i,  1893.  These  were  quickly  disposed  of  at  $i  each 
and  the  proceeds  were  paid  out  by  the  treasurer.  After 
this  coins  were  rapidly  received,  but  the  demand  for  them 
fell  off.  The  caprice  of  the  public  in  the  matter  of  souvenirs 
and  coin  collection  had  been  counted  on  too  heavily.  Being 
a  caprice,  it  sprang  up  when  not  expected  and  disappeared 
when  it  was  relied  upon. 

In  February,  1893,  your  company's  finances  received  a 


FINANCE  AND    WA  YS  AND  MEANS.  75 

severe  blow  from  a  quarter  whence  nothing  but  aid  and 
encouragement  should  have  been  looked  for.  The  Congress 
of  the  United  States  inserted  in  the  sundry  civil  bill  a 
clause  directing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  withhold 
$570,880  of  the  souvenir  coins  until  your  company  should 
give  security  that  it  would  defray  the  expenses  of  judges 
and  awards. 

The  subject  of  awards  was  wholly  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  and  your  company, 
under  the  Act  of  Congress  providing  for  the  Exposition, 
had  no  control  over  it  nor  responsibility  for  it.  The  Com- 
mission, through  its  Committee  on  Awards,  had  prepared 
plans  and  estimates  for  judging  exhibits  and  making  awards 
thereon,  and  it  asked  for  an  appropriation  from  Congress 
to  defray  its  expenses,  as  in  the  case  of  other  branches  of 
the  Commission's  work.  The  amount  estimated  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Awards  to  be  necessary  was  $570,880.  Instead 
of  making  an  appropriation  for  the  purpose,  Congress 
directed  that  an  equal  amount  of  souvenir  coins  be  with- 
held from  your  company  until  it  gave  security  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  that  an  appropriation  of  the  amount 
needed  for  this  purpose  would  be  made  out  of  your  com- 
pany's funds. 

The  great  injustice  of  this  act  can  easily  be  understood. 
The  appropriation  of  $2,500,000  in  aid  of  the  Exposition 
was  made  "  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  defraying  the  cost 
of  completing,  in  a  suitable  manner,  the  work  of  prepara- 
tion for  inaugurating  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition," 
and  by  the  terms  of  this  act  the  money  could  be  paid  to 
your  company  only  upon  receipted  vouchers  for  work  done 
and  material  furnished,  each  voucher  bearing  the  certificate 
of  your  president  and  the  director-general  that  the  money 
had  actually  been  expended  for  such  purpose.  Upon  the 
credit  of  this  appropriation,  as  a  part  of  its  available 


76  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

resources,  the  company  had  sold  $3,700,000  of  bonds  to  aid 
in  the  same  work  of  completing  the  Exposition  and  was 
attempting  to  sell  $1,300,000  more  of  the  same  issue  of 
bonds.  At  this  time,  when  the  company  was  relying,  almost 
from  day  to  day,  on  the  remittances  of  souvenir  coins  to 
replenish  its  treasury,  Congress  diverted  this  $570,000  of  its 
appropriation  to  a  purpose  not  in  any  way  connected  with 
the  "completing  of  the  work  of  preparation  for  inaugu- 
rating the  World's  Columbian  Exposition."  Such  a  thing 
could  not  have  been  attempted  between  individuals  in  the 
great  business  world  without  speedy  redress  through  legal 
process.  This  act  roused  great  indignation  among  the 
citizens  of  Chicago.  The  recollection  of  it  is  still  bitter  to 
the  officers  and  directors  who  were  compelled  to  bear  the 
additional  burden  thus  laid  upon  your  company  in  th.e  hour 
of  its  need.  After  carefully  considering  the  action  of  Con- 
gress thus  referred  to,  the  Board  of  Directors,  on  April  27th, 
refused  to  make  any  appropriation  for  the  work  of  judging 
and  awarding,  taking  the  ground  that  to  give  the  security 
required  by  this  last  Act  of  Congress  would  create  an 
obligation  inconsistent  with  the  covenants  contained  in 
the  Exposition  bonds.  Subsequently  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  decided  that  the  amount  of  souvenir  coins  with- 
held from  your  company  by  the  Act  of  Congress  could  be 
applied  directly  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  Committee 
on  Awards,  and  thus  the  intention  of  Congress  was  made 
effective  without  the  acquiescence  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 
To  meet  the  necessities  of  your  company,  made  doubly 
pressing  by  the  Act  of  Congress  just  described,  James  W.  Ells- 
worth undertook  to  dispose  of  part  of  the  Exposition  bonds 
among  the  railroad  companies  doing  business  in  Chicago. 
He  had  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Finance  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  election  of  the  writer 
to  the  presidency.  By  his  efforts,  aided  by  those  of  other 


FINANCE  AND    WAYS  AND  MEANS.  77 

directors  and  leading  stockholders  as  opportunity  offered, 
bonds  were  placed  with  the  railroad  companies  as  follows: 

Pennsylvania  Lines $  140,000 

Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 100,000 

Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul 100,000 

Chicago  &  North-Western 100,000 

Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific 100,000 

Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern 100 ,000 

Michigan  Central 50,000 

Illinois  Central. 100,000 

Chicago  &  Alton 60,000 

Total $  850,000 

The  railroad  companies  were  induced  to  take  these 
bonds  from  a  knowledge  that  speedy  financial  assistance 
was  necessary  to  avert  a  crisis  in  our  affairs.  The  railroads 
were  interested  in  the  success  of  the  company  both  as 
stockholders  and  as  carriers,  expecting  to  participate  in  the 
business  which  it  would  produce  in  the  event  of  success. 
Nevertheless,  in  view  of  the  menacing  condition  of  the 
country  and  the  approaching  financial  storm,  the  promptness 
with  which  these  corporations  responded  to  the  demand  can 
scarcely  be  commended  too  highly.  Frequently  the  treasury 
ran  very  low  and  occasionally  the  treasurer  would  find 
that  the  amount  of  vouchers  on  hand  was  more  than  enough 
to  exhaust  his  entire  available  cash  balance.  At  such  times 
the  avails  of  the  bonds  taken  by  railroad  companies  would 
come  just  in  time  to  avert  the  impending  crisis.  Finally 
there  remained  unsold  of  the  Exposition  bonds  $440,500. 
These  could  not  be  disposed  of  in  any  way,  because  of  the 
stringency  of  the  money  market.  But  the  Committee  on 
Finance  was  not  yet  at  the  end  of  its  resources.  A  million 
dollars  in  souvenir  coins  was  on  hand,  the  sale  of  which  at 
$i  each  was  proceeding  slowly.  The  banks  of  the  city 
agreed  to  take  and  hold  these  coins  as  a  part  of  their  legal 
reserves,  advancing  to  the  Exposition  the  par  value  of  the 
coins  as  a  loan.  This  loan  was  made  by  most  of  the  banks 
without  any  charge  for  interest. 


78  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  banks  which  charged  no  interest  were  the  following: 
First  National  Bank,  Union  National  Bank,  Commercial 
National  Bank,  Continental  National  Bank,  Metropolitan 
National  Bank,  Northwestern  National  Bank,  National 
Bank  of  Illinois,  Illinois  Trust  &  Savings  Bank,  Corn 
Exchange  Bank,  The  Northern  Trust  Company,  and 
American  Exchange  National  Bank. 

This  was  the  Finance  Committee's  last  entrenchment, 
and  the  amount  received  from  this  source  was  barely  suf- 
ficient to  bridge  over  the  period  remaining. 

It  is  impossible,  in  a  cold  recital  of  these  transactions, 
to  convey  a  clear  idea  of  the  grave  anxiety  and  the  severe 
strain  upon  the  resources  of  every  one  connected  with  this 
branch  of  the  work.  Of  the  gentlemen  serving  as  directors 
and  especially  of  the  members  of  the  Finance  Committee, 
who  assumed  this  task,  in  addition  to  the  burden  of  their 
private  affairs,  too  much  can  not  be  said  in  praise.  The 
stockholders  of  your  company  and  the  citizens  of  Chicago 
owe  them  a  debt  of  gratitude. 

When  the  money  provided  by  the  loan  upon  coins  had 
disappeared,  the  first  of  May  was  at  hand,  and  the  long 
period  of  disbursement  without  earnings  was  at  an  end. 
For  three  years,  while  we  had  been  building,  we  had  been 
struggling  to  provide  the  means  to  reach  with  credit  and 
success  the  opening  day  of  the  Exposition.  That  day 
dawned,  and  the  first  great  financial  problem,  that  which 
related  to  the  raising  of  the  funds  required  to  open  the 
Exposition,  was  brought  to  a  final  solution.  I  repeat  that 
one  who  had  not  shared  in  some  way  in  that  task  can  not 
appreciate  its  gravity  and  the  deep,  heartfelt  thankfulness 
of  those  who  had  borne  it  when  they  saw  the  end  of 
their  labors,  and  the  great  Exposition  practically  complete, 
unfolding  its  noble  and  beautiful  proportions  to  the  eyes  of 
the  world. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONCESSIONS    AND    PUBLIC    COMFORT. 

THE  great  task  intrusted  to  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  was  that  of  arranging  for  privileges 
and  concessions  of  every  kind  upon  the  Exposi- 
tion grounds.  Other  duties  equally  important 
were  intrusted  to  this  committee,  but  none  requiring  such 
constant  and  careful  attention,  nor  any  involving  the  same 
amount  of  difficulty  and  differences  of  opinion. 

By  the  term  "concession"  was  understood  every  line 
of  business  conducted  upon  the  Exposition  grounds,  for 
purposes  of  gain,  whether  the  object  of  such  business  was 
the  comfort  of  the  public  or  its  amusement  or  entertain- 
ment. "Privileges"  were  operations  conducted  by  exhibi- 
tors, involving  the  sale  of  articles  on  the  grounds  for  the 
purpose  of  exemplifying  the  process  of  manufacture,  or  of 
illustrating  more  fully  the  exhibit  in  connection  with  which 
the  privilege  was  conducted;  for  example,  the  sale  of  the 
product  of  a  machine  on  exhibition,  the  sale  being  conducted 
not  primarily  for  gain,  but  to  dispose  of  the  product  or  to 
lessen  the  expense  of  exhibition.  Naturally  applicants  for 
"privileges"  were  entitled  to  more  liberal  treatment  than 
applicants  for  "  concessions,"  and  they  were  not  required  to 
pay  as  much  for  the  license  to  operate. 

How  to  collect  from  the  holders  of  privileges  and  con- 
cessions the  charges  exacted  by  your  company  was  the 
first  important  question. 

Next  to  this  and  of  equal  importance  was  the  question 
of  what  concessions  your  company  ought  to  license.  The 

(79) 


8o  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

importance  of  this  question  was  due  to  its  bearing  upon 
the  dignity  of  the  Exposition. 

Generally  speaking  the  collection  of  charges  could  be 
effected  under  one  of  two  systems,  the  "percentage  "  system 
or  the  "bonus"  system.  Under  the  first,  the  holders  of 
privileges  and  concessions  would  pay  a  percentage  of  their 
receipts  to  your  company.  Under  the  second,  they  would 
pay  a  fixed  sum  for  the  license  to  operate.  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  of  1876  but  slight 
importance  was  attached  to  the  subject  of  concessions 
as  a  means  of  raising  revenue.  Its  total  receipts  from 
privileges  and  concessions  amounted  to  only  $441,411.16, 
while  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  the  receipts 
amounted  to  over  $4,000,000.  The  bonus  plan  was  adopted 
at  the  Centennial.  At  the  Exposition  at  Paris  in  1889  a 
payment  was  exacted,  based  principally  upon  the  number 
of  square  feet  occupied  by  the  concessionaire  and  the 
number  of  admissions  at  the  Exposition  gates  on  each 
day;  as,  for  example,  a  charge  of  so  much  per  square 
foot  for  every  10,000  gate  admissions.  This  was  on  the 
theory  that  the  value  of  the  concessionaire's  space  was 
in  proportion  to  the  volume  of  his  business,  and  that  the 
volume  of  his  business  was  governed  primarily  by  the 
number  of  people  upon  the  Exposition  grounds.  This  plan 
is  a  distinct  improvement  upon  the  bonus  plan,  as  it  enables 
the  Exposition  to  participate  to  a  larger  extent  in  the  prof- 
its of  the  concessions.  Naturally,  the  fixed  sum  which  the 
concessionaire  is  willing  to  pay  for  a  license  to  operate  will 
be  less  than  could  be  realized  by  the  collection  of  a  just 
proportion  of  his  profits;  for  he  must  weigh  in  advance  all 
the  chances  of  failure,  and  common  business  prudence  would 
cause  him  to  be  conservative  as  to  the  amount  which  he 
would  be  willing  to  pay  as  a  license  fee  or  bonus. 

The    theory    of    the    committee    was    that    the    closer 


*lA* 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  8  1 

the  business  relation  between  the  concessionaire  and  your 
company,  the  greater  would  be  its  share  of  the  business, 
if  it  were  successful,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  committee 
to  grant  no  concessions  except  such  as  were  likely  to  prove 
successful  business  ventures.  This  theory  had,  of  course, 
its  limitations.  The  company  could  not  undertake  to 
share  with  concessionaires  the  net  profits  of  their  con- 
cessions, because  it  could  not  control  the  expenses  thereof, 
but  it  was  thought  that  the  concessionaires  might  con- 
tract to  pay  the  company  an  agreed  percentage  of  their 
gross  receipts,  and  if  such  agreements  were  made,  it 
would  be  the  duty  of  the  committee  to  provide  for  audit- 
ing concessions  and  collecting  the  proper  amounts.  The 
difficulty  was  to  secure  a  reliable  audit.  This  difficulty 
was  so  great  as  to  cause  the  committee  to  hesitate  and  to 
doubt  seriously  the  advisability  of  entering  into  such 
arrangements  at  all.  While  the  system  of  exacting  per- 
centages of  gross  receipts  was  never  formally  adopted  as 
a  rule  of  general  application,  it  was  adopted  in  the  first 
important  concession  granted,  that  of  the  Egypt-Chicago 
Exposition  Company,  and  soon  became  the  fixed  policy 
of  the  committee  in  all  concessions.  Some  doubted  the 
wisdom  of  the  policy,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  such 
doubts  arose. 

In  adopting  this  policy  the  Exposition  pinned  its  hopes 
of  realizing  profit  from  concessions  almost  wholly  upon 
the  man  who  would  have  charge  of  auditing  their  receipts. 
If  the  company  had  failed  to  secure  thoroughly  efficient 
service  in  this  direction  its  losses  would  have  been  enor- 
mous. Moreover,  in  the  absence  of  experience  in  such 
work,  it  might  well  be  doubted  whether  it  would  be  pos- 
sible, even  with  a  good  organization,  to  collect  the 
amounts  due  under  this  system,  and  to  prevent  fraud, 
not  only  among  concessionaires  but  among  their  employes. 

6 


82  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

As  to  the  danger  of  theft  and  fraud,  a  certain  amount  of 
this  was  conceded  to  be  inevitable,  and  the  efforts  of  the 
collector  were  directed  toward  reducing  it  to  a  minimum. 
Moreover  it  was  thought  that  the  danger  of  loss  by  con- 
cessionaires through  the  dishonesty  of  their  own  employes 
would  induce  them  to  cooperate  with  us  for  their  own 
protection  as  well  as  that  of  the  Exposition. 

As  to  the  difficulty  of  excluding  concessions  not  in 
harmony  with  the  dignity  of  the  Exposition,  safeguards 
were  adopted  which  prevented  most  of  the  threatened 
mistakes.  Mistakes  did  occur,  just  as  frauds  occurred,  but 
probably  not  more  seriously  than  usual  at  expositions. 
In  fact  the  criticisms  and  predictions  of  the  enemies  of 
the  enterprise  and  of  our  city  were  such  as  to  arouse 
a  high  degree  of  sensitiveness  among  directors  as  to  the 
dignity  of  the  Exposition,  and  this  feeling  led  to  the 
rejection  of  a  large  number  of  applications. 

The  consideration  of  the  fitness  of  concessions  at  all 
times  outweighed  the  question  of  probable  receipts  there- 
from. Concessions  negotiated  by  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  were  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  director- 
general  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  and  to  the 
allotment  of  space  for  the  conduct  of  the  concession  by 
the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings.  By  reference 
to  the  director-general,  possible  objections  from  an  exhibit 
standpoint  received  consideration  in  advance,  and  by  refer- 
ence to  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  for  the 
allotment  of  space  the  danger  of  interfering  with  the  plans 
for  the  order,  decorum,  and  symmetry  of  the  grounds  were 
weighed  and  considered.  ,  Difficulties  and  misunderstandings 
arose  at  times  between  these  three  authorities,  namely,  Ways 
and  Means,  Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  the  director-general, 
particularly  between  the  first  two.  Such  misunderstand- 
ings were  inevitable  between  two  bodies,  one  considering 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  83 

the  artistic  and  the  other  the  revenue  side  of  the  same  under- 
taking. They  ended  usually  in  satisfactory  compromises. 

The  first  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  was  Otto  Young.  During  his  incumbency  con- 
cessions received  much  preliminary  consideration,  but  it 
was  as  yet  too  early  to  think  of  granting  any  of  impor- 
tance, and,  moreover,  the  committee's  time  was  thoroughly 
occupied  with  securing  additional  subscriptions  to  the 
capital  stock  and,  with  the  treasurer,  in  collecting  the 
installments  upon  the  stock  already  subscribed.  At  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Board  after  the  election  of  directors 
in  April,  1891,  Mr.  Young  resigned  as  director,  on  account 
of  the  condition  of  his  health,  and  James  W.  Ells- 
worth, who,  at  the  election,  had  been  omitted  from  .  the 
Board  at  his  own  request,  on  account  of  the  competition 
among  stockholders  for  the  position  of  director,  was  chosen 
to  fill  his  place.  Lyman  J.  Gage,  who  had  just  closed 
his  services  as  president,  became  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means,  and  the  writer  became  vice- 
chairman.  It  should  be  explained  that  Mr.  Gage's  appoint- 
ment to  the  chairmanship  was  against  his  wish,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  retaining  him  upon  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. He  did  not  serve  actively  with  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means.  This  arrangement  continued  until 
October  9,  1891,  when  Mr.  Gage  became  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings.  Later  the  by-laws 
were  so  amended  that  the  ex-president  of  the  company 
was  made  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee.  When 
Mr.  Gage  resigned  the  chairmanship  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means  the  writer  became  chairman. 

Formal  applications  for  concessions  of  every  kind  were 
received  upon  blank  forms  prepared  for  the  purpose,  which 
were  filed  in  tfce  office  of  the  committee,  awaiting  con- 
sideration. These  forms  contained  the  following  rules: 


84  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

APPLICATION  FOR  CONCESSION. 

REMARK:  "  Privileges  "  refer  to  the  sale  of  such  goods  as  are  manu- 
factured in  order  to  illustrate  a  machine  or  process  exhibited.  ' '  Con- 
cessions "  refer  to  the  sale  of  all  goods  and  operation  of  attractions  from 
which  the  securing  of  revenue  is  the  sole  object  of  the  lessees. 

Applications  to  sells  goods  of  any  kind  not  manufactured  on  the 
grounds,  as  the  products  of  a  machine  or  process  exhibited,  or  lessees  of 
concessions  for  restaurants,  soda  water,  cigars  and  tobacco,  photographs, 
guide  books,  rolling  chairs,  cut  flowers,  confectionery,  bakery,  lemonade, 
messenger  service,  telegraph  service,  perfumery,  and  all  other  conces- 
sions not  named  in  above  list,  must  apply  to  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means,  setting  forth  the  size  of  building,  if  special  building  is 
required,  in  the  column  headed  "Size  of  Building,"  or  length  and 
breadth  of  space  required,  if  located  in  any  of  the  Exposition  buildings, 
under  the  head  of  "Space  Desired."  The  Exposition  management 
reserves  the  right  to  accept  or  reject  any  or  all  applications  for  conces- 
sions. 

GENERAL  RULES  TO  GOVERN  LESSEES  OF  CONCESSIONS. 

RULE  i.  Lessees  and  such  employes  or  assistants  as  may  be  nec- 
essary for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  business  will  have  full  access  to  the 
Exposition  grounds,  but  they  will  be  subject  at  all  times  to  the  general 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  Exposition,  and  shall  enter  at  such  gates 
and  at  such  hours  as  may  be  designated  by  the  Exposition  manage- 
ment. 

RULE  2.  No  business  under  any  of  the  concessions  shall  be  conducted 
in  other  than  a  first-class,  orderly  manner.  No  gambling  or  games  of 
chance  will  be  allowed  anywhere  within  the  Exposition  grounds. 

RULE  3.  All  buildings,  stands,  or  booths  leased  or  erected  for 
concessions  shall  be  open  at  all  reasonable  hours  to  the  inspection  of  the 
director-general  and  such  agents  as  may  be  designated  by  the  Exposi- 
tion management. 

RULE  4.  No  transferring  or  sub-letting  of  any  interest  in  the  con- 
cessions granted  will  be  allowed  without  the  written  consent  of  the 
Exposition  management. 

RULE  5.  No  employe  or  assistant  of  lessees  of  concessions  shall 
enter  upon  his  duties  until  his  name  and  address  have  been  registered 
in  the  office  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  who  will  designate 
an  official  number,  which  shall  attach  to  said  employe  or  assistant,  and 
such  number  must  be  worn  by  said  employe  or  assistant  when  on  duty, 
and  used  as  the  rules  may  designate. 

RULE  6.  All  goods  sold  must  be  what  they  are  represented,  and  no 
deception  will  be  allowed. 

RULE  7.  Wagon  gates  will  be  open  at  5  A.  M.  and  closed  at  8.30 
A.  M.  ,  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  supplies  to  all  those  having  conces- 
sions; all  supplies  must  be  brought  in  between  those  hours.  Only  such 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  85 

articles  as  are  covered  by  the  concession  will  be  admitted  without  a 
special  permit. 

RULE  8.  All  stands,  counters,  and  fittings,  together  with  all  decora- 
tions, to  be  erected  at  the  expense  of  the  lessee;  plans  of  the  above  to  be 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  director-general. 

RULE  9.     Solicitation  for  the  sale  of  goods  will  not  be  allowed. 

RULE  10.  Concessions  will  be  limited  to  a  given  number  of  the 
same  in  each  class  or  branch  concerning  which  concessions  are  granted. 

RULE  u.  Lessees  will  be  required  to  keep  their  premises  clean  and 
in  complete  order  at  all  times,  and  shall  not  permit  any  violence,  coarse 
or  insolent  language,  or  unnecessary  noise  about  their  premises.  Any 
employe  or  assistants  wearing  the  number  assigned  by  the  Exposition 
management,  appearing  on  the  grounds  at  any  time  intoxicated,  mak- 
ing unnecessary  noise,  or  using  coarse  or  insolent  language,  will  be 
deprived  of  their  number  and  be  immediately  and  permanently  expelled 
from  the  grounds. 

RULE  12.  Persons  procuring  concessions  to  sell  foreign  goods  will 
be  subject  to  the  above  rules  in  addition  to  the  regulations  issued  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  for  the  protection 
and  collection  of  the  revenue. 

RULE  13.  Any  person  who  attempts  to  sell  or  expose  for  sale,  on 
the  Exposition  grounds,  or  in  any  of  the  buildings  erected  thereon,  any 
article  whatever,  without  having  first  obtained  a  concession  for  such 
purpose,  will  be  forthwith  ejected  from  the  Exposition  grounds,  and 
prosecuted  to  the  full  extent  of  the  law. 

RULE  14.  Any  violation  on  the  part  of  the  lessees  of  any  of  the 
rules  governing  the  Exposition  or  concessions  will  make  void  their  con- 
tract at  the  option  of  the  Exposition  managers. 

RULE  15.  All  lessees,  assistants,  and  their  employes  must  leave  the 
grounds  within  two  hours  after  the  close  of  the  Exposition. 

RULE  1 6.  Persons  procuring  concessions  will  be  required  to  furnish 
the  Exposition  management  with  a  good  and  sufficient  bond  for  the 
faithful  performance  of  their  contract. 

RULE  17.  The  Exposition  management  reserves  the  right  to  amend 
or  add  to  these  rules  whenever  it  may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the 
interest  of  the  Exposition  and  the  public  good. 

Some  portion  of  an  Exposition  must  be  assigned  to  light 
entertainment  for  the  amusement  of  visitors.  The  eye  and 
the  mind  need  relief  after  the  contemplation  of  vast  exhibits 
of  the  results  of  human  activity  and  the  triumphs  of  art. 
The  Exposition  grounds  were  most  fortunately  adapted  to 
this  purpose.  The  Midway  Plaisance,  a  narrow  strip  of 
ground  projecting  at  right  angles  to  the  west  side  of  Jackson 


86  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Park,  offered  an  admirable  location  for  picturesque  displays 
characteristic  of  the  customs  of  foreign  and  remote  nations, 
and  for  various  forms  of  amusement,  refreshment,  comfort, 
and  rest,  so  grateful  to  those  wearied  with  the  exertion  of 
sight-seeing. 

This  narrow  strip  of  land  gave  an  opportunity  for  isolat- 
ing these  special  features,  thus  preventing  jarring  contrasts 
between  the  beautiful  buildings  and  grounds  and  the  illimit- 
able exhibits  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  amusing,  distracting, 
ludicrous,  and  noisy  attractions  of  the  "Midway."  This 
strip  had  been  abandoned  to  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  at  the  outset  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  did  not 
occupy  very  much  of  the  thought  of  the  Exposition  manage- 
ment outside  of  that  committee  until  the  time  drew  very 
near  for  opening  the  gates.  During  this  time  the  entire 
plan  of  the  Midway  underwent  many  changes.  Often  the 
plat  was  completely  filled  up  with  concessions,  only  to  see  a 
number  of  them  drop  out  and  the  substitution  of  others  in 
their  places. 

Among  the  proposed  features  of  the  Midway,  one  most 
fully  discussed  was  a  "  Bazar  of  all  Nations."  This  was  a 
plan  for  the  opening  of  a  grand  bazar  for  the  sale  of 
strange,  interesting,  and  curious  articles  of  all  sorts  and  from 
all  quarters  of  the  world,  India,  China,  Japan,  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  the  Black  Forest  of  Germany,  Bulgaria  and  Rou- 
mania,  Spain,  Morocco,  Algeria,  Egypt,  Turkey,  Persia,  South 
America,  and  Mexico,  in  fact  from  every  land  from  which 
curios  and  articles  of  vertu  could  be  obtained.  One  of  the 
results  expected  from  this  plan  was  the  restriction  of  the 
sale  of  articles  in  connection  with  exhibits,  so  difficult  to 
accomplish  in  expositions.  The  plan  was  attractive  and 
might  be  made  successful  at  a  future  exposition.  It  was 
abandoned  and  the  sale  of  curios  was  relegated  to  the  several 
characteristic  "villages"  of  foreign  nations  in  the  Midway. 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  87 

The  articles  sold,  while  generally  interesting,  were  usually 
small  and  inexpensive,  and  there  were  fewer  objects  of 
rarity,  great  value,  and  artistic  worth  than  could  have  been 
desired. 

The  first  important  characteristic  concession  granted  was 
for  a  "  Street  in  Cairo,"  conducted  by  the  Egypt-Chicago 
Exposition  Company.  This  was  also  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  the  concessions,  the  stockholders  of  the  company 
realizing  more  than  100  per  cent  upon  their  investment. 
The  admission  fee  was  at  first  10  cents,  but  the  demand 
became  so  great  that  the  fee  was  raised  to  25  cents.  The 
interior  of  the  inclosure  presented  an  interesting  and  credit- 
able representation  of  a  Cairo  street  lined  with  dwellings, 
showing  overhanging  windows  inclosed  with  quaintly  carved 
lattices,  shops  for  the  sale  of  wares  and  curios  in  great 
variety,  cafes,  a  mosque,  a  theater  where  dancing  girls  kept 
time  to  characteristic  music,  a  fountain,  etc.  The  street 
was  filled  with  a  motley  throng  of  sight-seers,  donkeys, 
camels  with  their  Arab  drivers,  flower  girls,  dervishes,  jug- 
glers, sword  players,  and  now  and  then  was  resplendent 
with  all  the  glories  of  a  wedding  procession.  It  was  vocal 
with  the  cries  of  vendors,  the  yells  of  camel-drivers,  the 
shouts  of  the  riders,  and  the  merry  laughter  of  all  bystand- 
ers. Probably  no  livelier  or  more  mirthful  scene  existed 
on  the  Midway,  and  few  concessions  were  more  popular  or 
profitable. 

The  erection  of  a  steel  tower  of  great  height  was 
frequently  proposed,  and  because  such  a  tower  was  very 
popular  at  Paris  in  1889,  the  project  received  much  con- 
sideration from  the  committee.  The  objections  urged  to  it 
were  the  shortness  of  the  time  in  which  to  construct  it,  the 
difficulty  of  securing  the  large  amount  of  capital  necessary 
for  such  a  venture,  and  the  fact  that  the  scheme  did  not 
possess  the  merit  of  originality.  Nevertheless,  a  concession 


88  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

for  this  purpose  was  granted  and  a  location  assigned,  being 
upon  the  east  end  of  the  Midway  between  Stony  Island 
Avenue  and  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  The 
work  of  construction  was  never  begun,  except  that  piles  for 
the  foundation  were  brought  and  for  a  long  time  cumbered 
the  site,  being  removed  only  shortly  before  the  opening  of 
the  Exposition. 

The  special  feature  of  this  Exposition,  which  corre- 
sponded in  boldness  and  novelty  more  nearly  to  the  Eiffel 
Tower  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889,  was  the  "Ferris 
Wheel."  This  was  an  enormous  wheel,  250  feet  in  diameter, 
projected  into  the  air,  hung  upon  supports  of  steel  frame- 
work, by  an  axle  32  inches  in  diameter,  45  feet  long,  and 
weighing  56  tons,  said  to  be  the  largest  piece  of  steel  ever 
forged,  and  to  have  cost  $35,000.  Upon  the  periphery  of  this 
wheel  were  hung  thirty-six  passenger  cars,  each  capable  of 
seating  forty  to  sixty  persons.  The  total  weight  of  the 
wheel  was  4,300  tons.  It  was  propelled  slowly  by  link  belts 
underneath,  engaging  with  cogs  upon  the  circumference  of 
the  wheel,  and  driven  by  engines  of  great  power.  At  night 
the  wheel  was  brilliantly  illuminated  with  3,000  incandescent 
electric  lights,  the  electricity  being  developed  by  the  same 
engines  which  moved  the  wheel.  Visitors  were  allowed  to 
ride  round  twice,  the  time  consumed  being  about  twenty- 
five  minutes,  for  a  fee  of  50  cents.  The  motion  was  slow 
and  pleasant,  and  the  ride  afforded  a  view  of  the  Exposition 
grounds  and  of  the  environs  for  many  miles  in  every  direction. 

The  contract  under  which  the  wheel  was  built  provided 
that  the  concessionaire  was  to  receive  from  the  first  proceeds 
the  cost  of  the  construction,  not  to  exceed  $300,000,  after 
which  your  company  was  to  have  one-half  of  the  gross 
receipts.  The  gross  receipts  from  this  concession  reached 
the  maximum  named  in  the  contract  early  in  September, 
after  which  the  Exposition  began  to  receive  its  equal  share. 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  89 

The  funds  for  this  enterprise  were  supplied  by  an  issue  of 
bonds,  and  the  bondholders  received  back  from  the  profits 
the  par  value  of  their  bonds  with  interest.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  stockholders  received  a  dividend  and  the  ownership 
of  the  wheel,  fully  paid  for  out  of  the  profits.  The  wheel 
was  not  finished  until  six  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the 
Exposition,  and  because  of  difficulties  of  construction,  an 
advance  in  the  price  of  steel,  and  other  causes,  its  cost  was 
said  to  exceed  greatly  the  original  estimate  of  $300,000. 

The  list  of  concessions  located  upon  the  Midway  Plaisance 
is  as  follows: 

THE  DIAMOND  MATCH  COMPANY  —  Samples  of  its  products. 

THE  IRISH  VILLAGE  OF  THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIES  ASSOCIATION  —  An 
imitation  of  Blarney  Castle. 

WORKINGMEN'S  HOME — A  reproduction  of  a  model  cottage  such  as 
are  owned  by  workingmen  in  Philadelphia. 

INTERNATIONAL  DRESS  AND  COSTUME  COMPANY — Young  women  wear- 
ing costumes  of  various  nations. 

ELECTRIC  SCENIC  THEATER  —  Views  of  Alpine  scenery  electrically 
illuminated  and  showing  changing  effects  from  dawn  to  night. 

ANSCHUTS  ELECTRO-PHOTOGRAPHIC  TACHYSCOPES  —  Reproductions  of 
the  natural  motions  of  objects  and  animals. 

LOG  CABIN  AND  RESTAURANT  —  Containing  colonial  relics  and  a 
restaurant  for  old-fashioned  New  England  dinners. 

LIBBEY  GLASS  WORKS  —  A  large,  complete,  and  very  interesting 
model  glass  factory. 

COMPAGNIA  VENEZIA-MURANO — An  exhibit  of  Venetian  glass-blowing. 

A  SECOND  IRISH  VILLAGE  —  A  reproduction  of  Donegal  Castle. 

HAGENBECK'S  ZOOLOGICAL  ARENA  COMPANY  —  A  remarkable  exhibit 
of  trained  animals. 
i^ JAPANESE  BAZAR. 

VILLAGE  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDERS. 

JAVA  VILLAGE. 

VIENNA  BAKERY,  CAFE,  AND  THEATER. 

PANORAMA  OF  THE  BERNESE  ALPS. 

GERMAN  VILLAGE  —  This  contained  a  fine  ethnographical  museum 
consisting  of  a  rare  and  valuable  collection  of  implements  of  war  and 
the  chase,  of  periods  beginning  with  the  prehistoric  and  ending  with 
the  renaissance.  The  building  containing  this  museum  was  in  the 
shape  of  a  castle  chapel.  In  addition  to  this  musuem  there  was  the 
village  proper,  containing  characteristic  houses  of  the  different  portions 
of  the  German  Empire.  Besides  this  there  was  a  concert  garden  and 


90  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

restaurant  halls.  The  garden  was  large  enough  to  comfortably  accom- 
modate 8,000  visitors,  and  two  fine  German  military  bands  —  one  from 
the  infantry  and  one  from  the  cavalry  —  gave  concerts  daily.  Their  fine 
physique,  handsome  uniforms,  and  excellent  music  lent  an  additional 
charm  to  this  very  creditable  concession. 

EGYPTIAN  TEMPLE. 

STEREOPTICON  VIEWS  OF  POMPEII. 

PERSIAN  PALACE. 

BARRE  SLIDING  RAILWAY  —  This  was  never  operated.  The  project 
was  for  a  car  supported  on  hollow  iron  shoes  sliding  upon  rails,  water 
being  fed  into  the  cavity  of  the  shoe  and  escaping  between  the  rail  and 
the  shoe  during  motion.  The  project  failed,  owing  to  defective  man- 
agement and  lack  of  funds. 

MOORISH  PALACE. 

MODEL  OF  EIFFEL  TOWER  on  a  scale  of  one-fiftieth. 

PARISIAN  ART  GLASSWARE  COMPANY. 

FERRIS  WHEEL  —  Heretofore  described. 

ICE  RAILWAY  —  A  sleighing  or  coasting  track,  875  feet  long,  covered 
with  artificial  ice  and  snow. 

MODEL  OF  ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH  OF  ROME. 

FRENCH  PAVILION  and  Cider  Press  for  the  manufacture  and  sale 
of  cider  from  apples  from  France. 

VIENNA  CAFE  AND  RESTAURANT. 

ALGERIAN  AND  TUNISIAN  VILLAGE. 

EAST  INDIA  BAZAR. 
*^CYCLORAMA  OF  THE  VOLCANO  OF  KILAUEA  in  the  island  of  Hawaii. 

AUSTRIAN  VILLAGE  AND  OLD  VIENNA  —  A  reproduction  of  that  part  of 
Vienna  known  as  "die  Graben  "  as  it  appeared  200  years  ago.  The 
appearance  of  mediaeval  German  house  architecture  upon  the  outside 
was  cleverly  maintained  and  continued  inside  the  inclosure,  where 
booths  for  the  sale  of  Austrian  and  Hungarian  curiosities  and  excellent 
restaurants  were  located.  In  the  center  of  the  interior  court,  surrounded 
by  the  most  quaint  and  picturesque  Vienna  architecture,  was  a  concert- 
stand,  where  an  excellent  Viennese  orchestra  played.  Here  one  could 
secure  a  meal  of  characteristic  Viennese  cookery  in  the  open  air  or  under 
the  shelter  of  canopies,  while  listening  to  the  concert.  There  was  also  an 
interesting  collection  of  antiquities,  the  whole  effect  being  most  charm- 
ing and  full  of  comfort.  It  soon  became  one  of  the  most  popular  features 
upon  the  Exposition  grounds,  particularly  with  residents  of  the  city. 
Soon  after  it  was  placed  in  operation,  a  fashionable  custom  grew  up  of 
holding  little  dinner  parties  and  reunions  of  all  sorts  in  this  restaurant, 
and  persons  who  had  "done  "  the  Exposition  daily  for  weeks  until  the 
interest  of  novelty  had  worn  off,  continued  to  come  many  times  for  the 
purpose  of  "  seeing  the  sights  "  f or  a  little  while,  and  then  settling  down 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  concert  and  restaurant  and  the  picturesque  fea- 
tures of  "  Old  Vienna,"  before  fatigue  had  dulled  the  edge  of  enjoyment. 
The  admission  to  the  inclosure  was  25  cents. 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  91 

CHINESE  VILLAGE. 

CAPTIVE  BALLOON. 

DAHOMEY  VILLAGE. 

BRAZILIAN  CONCERT  HALL — Dances  performed  by  natives  from  the 
interior  of  Brazil. 

LAPLAND  VILLAGE. 

CALIFORNIA  OSTRICH  FARM. 

HUNGARIAN  CAFE  AND  CONCERT  PAVILION. 

BULGARIAN  CURIOSITIES. 

COLORADO  GOLD  MINING  —  Machinery  illustrating  the  method  of 
gold  mining. 

UNITED  STATES  SUBMARINE  DIVING  COMPANY. 

JOHORE  BUNGALO  —  Malayan  curiosities. 

GERMAN  WIENERWURST  HOUSE  —  Nurnburg  Bratwurst  Glocklein. 

CAMERA  OBSCURA — Exhibit  of  views  transformed  by  the  camera 
obscura,  of  a  portion  of  the  Exposition  grounds. 

MOORISH  MOSQUE. 

AMERICAN  INDIAN  VILLAGE. 

SITTING  BULL'S  CABIN. 

OTTOMAN  HIPPODROME — Racing  on  dromedaries,  Arabian  sports 
and  horsemanship,  dancing,  feasting,  and  wedding  ceremonies,  show- 
ing life  in  the  wild  East. 

The  foregoing  is  a  list  of  concessions  as  they  were 
finally  arranged  upon  the  Midway  Plaisance.  Many  of  the 
minor  ones  were  not  planned  until  after  the  Exposition 
was  opened.  Many  agreed  upon  as  to  terms  never  reached 
the  stage  of  a  contract,  or,  if  contracts  were  made,  failed 
to  go  into  operation. 

In  August,  1892,  when  the  writer  became  the  president 
of  your  company,  Edward  B.  Butler,  who  had  been  vice- 
chairman  of  the  committee,  and  most  active  and  efficient 
in  the  conduct  of  the  work,  succeeded  as  chairman.  He 
entered  upon  the  discharge  of  this  duty  just  when  all  the 
scattered  threads  were  rapidly  converging,  when  the  strain 
was  growing  intense,  and  the  demand  for  ceaseless  care, 
labor,  and  attention  imperative.  Loyally  and  earnestly  he 
strove  with  the  heavy  task,  neglecting  his  personal  affairs, 
fulfilling  at  the  same  time  the  duties  of  the  chairmanship 
of  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections,  an  offshoot 


92  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  and  serving  as  a 
member  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of 
Public  Comfort. 

The  concessions  located  upon  the  Midway  were  only  a 
part  of  those  operated  upon  the  Exposition  grounds,  while 
the  aggregate  represents  but  a  fraction  of  the  work  per- 
formed by  the  committee.  During  the  writer's  incumbency 
as  chairman  233  propositions,  and  during  Mr.  Butler's  chair- 
manship 258  propositions,  were  considered.  These  do  not 
include  the  thousand  varied  applications  received  but  never 
formally  considered  by  the  committee. 

Among  the  most  important  concessions  operated  in 
Jackson  Park  were  the  following: 

THE  INTRAMURAL  RAILROAD  —  This  was  an  elevated  railroad  extend- 
ing around  the  north,  west,  and  south  sides  of  the  park,  operated  by  a 
"three  rail"  electric  system,  and  for  10  cents  carrying  visitors  the 
entire  circuit  of  the  grounds,  except  a  part  of  the  east  side,  left  open  to 
preserve  the  lake  view.  The  elevated  position  of  the  open  cars  gave  an 
opportunity  for  a  most  charming  survey  of  the  grounds  and  buildings. 

THE  ELECTRIC  LAUNCHES  of  the  Columbia  Launch  and  Navigation 
Company.  These  launches  were  propelled  by  motors  operated  by 
electricity  from  storage  batteries.  They  moved  noiselessly  through  the 
lagoons  without  smoke,  steam,  heat,  or  dirt,  the  mechanism  being  con- 
cealed and  leaving  the  entire  boat  open  for  the  accommodation  of 
visitors.  They  offered  a  most  charming  means  of  making  by  water  the 
inner  circuit  of  the  grounds,  serving  as  did  the  Intramural  Railway  for 
the  outer  circuit.  About  sixty  of  these  boats  were  provided,  including 
two  for  the  president  and  the  Council  of  Administration,  one  for  the 
director-general,  and  one  for  the  director  of  works.  The  batteries  were 
charged  at  night  at  a  station  located  in  the  South  Pond,  just  south  of 
the  Agricultural  Building. 

RESTAURANTS  —  A  general  restaurant  concession  was  granted  to  the 
Wellington  Catering  Company,  which  operated  restaurants  and  lunch 
counters  of  various  grades  in  most  of  the  principal  Exposition  buildings, 
in  a  structure  erected  for  the  purpose  in  the  north  part  of  the  grounds, 
and  in  one  in  the  Midway.  Besides  these  there  were  the  Marine  Cafe, 
located  near  the  Fisheries  Building,  in  a  picturesque  house  where 
sea  and  lake  food  of  all  kinds  were  served;  the  New  England  Clam 
Bake;  a  restaurant  upon  the  roof  of  the  Woman's  Building;  a  small 
restaurant  over  the  Golden  Door  of  the  Transportation  Building,  after  a 
time  discontinued  because  the  lack  of  elevator  capacity  made  the  loca- 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  93 

tion  dangerous  in  case  of  fire;  the  Columbian  Casino,  in  the  building  at 
the  south  end  of  the  Peristyle;  the  White  Horse  Inn,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  grounds;  the  Big  Tree  Restaurant,  connected  with  an 
exhibit  of  a  large  tree  from  California;  and  numberless  pavilions  for 
the  sale  of  tea,  coffee,  and  chocolate,  operated  by  various  interests, 
domestic  and  foreign,  as  privileges  or  concessions. 

THE  COLUMBIA  ROLLER  CHAIR  COMPANY — This  concession  was  for 
the  operation  of  light-running,  comfortable  wicker  rolling  chairs,  each 
pushed  by  an  uniformed  attendant  who  was  trained  to  be  an  efficient 
and  courteous  guide.  The  corps  was  recruited  from  undergraduate 
students  of  colleges  and  academies,  who  thus  secured,  in  addition  to 
employment  for  their  vacation,  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Exposition. 

THE  MOVABLE  SIDEWALK  —  This  was  an  endless  traveling  platform, 
with  seats,  located  upon  the  great  pier  east  of  the  Peristyle.  It  was 
propelled  at  the  rate  of  six  miles  an  hour.  Persons  desiring  to  use  the 
sidewalk  stepped  first  upon  an  outer  platform,  which  moved  at  half 
speed,  and  from  this  to  the  inner  platform,  which  moved  at  full  speed. 
It  was  operated  by  the  Multiple  Speed  and  Traction  Company. 

It  was  the  intention  to  limit  the  concessions  in  Jackson 
Park  to  such  as  intimately  affected  the  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  visitors,  and  therefore  but  few  special  attractions 
were  there  admitted. 

Among  the  few  exceptions  to  this  rule  may  be  noted  : 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  grounds,  a  cave  of  the  prehistoric  Cliff 
Dwellers,  reproduced  within  an  artificial  mountain ;  a  most  creditable 
exhibit  and  eventually  very  attractive. 

Upon  the  lagoons  a  number  of  Venetian  gondolas,  operated  either 
as  cabs  to  be  chartered  by  the  hour,  or  for  a  fee  for  the  circuit  of  the 
lagoons.  Also  a  number  of  steam  launches  which  ran  out  into  the  lake 
from  the  Grand  Basin,  or  from  the  north  and  south  entrances  to  the 
lagoons. 

In  the  South  Pond  was  shown  the  old  whaling  bark,  the  Progress, 
brought  by  water  to  Lake  Michigan  from  New  Bedford,  Mass.  It  con- 
tained a  marine  museum  of  considerable  interest,  which  was  shown  for 
a  small  fee. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  evident  that  the  collection  of 
percentages  of  gross  receipts  from  so  many  concessions 
involved  enormous  labor,  a  most  perfect  organization,  and 
great  executive  ability.  To  one  not  acquainted  with  sys- 
tems for  auditing  perfectly  every  branch  of  business  the  task 


94  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

would  seem  hopeless.  It  was  grave  enough  at  best.  The 
Exposition  was  fortunate  in  securing  the  services  of  a  man 
admirably  adapted  to  this  work  in  Paul  Blackmar,  superin- 
tendent of  collections,  and  for  a  complete  and  detailed 
account  of  his  department  I  refer  to  the  valuable  report 
which  he  has  submitted.  His  work  will  be  referred  to  in 
Chapter  X. 

A  few  suggestions  for  improvements  in  this  department 
are  certainly  in  order.  Doubt  was  frequently  expressed 
whether  a  committee  organization  was  the  best  for  the  pur- 
pose of  granting  concessions.  In  view  of  the  success  which 
was  achieved,  one  should  be  very  slow  to  suggest  changes ; 
nevertheless,  it  would  seem  that  if  our  superintendent  of 
collections  had  served  us  during  the  entire  period  when  con- 
cessions were  granted,  many  of  the  vexations,  inaccuracies, 
mistakes,  and  confusions  in  concession  contracts  might  have 
been  avoided.  When  we  recall  the  misunderstandings 
which  arose,  the  losses  which  we  sustained,  and  the  troubles 
which  compelled  the  appointment  of  a  Committee  of  Adjust- 
ment to  settle  disputes  with  concessionaires  and  to  get 
them  on  a  paying  basis,  there  would  seem  to  be  some 
room  for  improvement,  of  course  without  the  hope  of 
avoiding  all  misunderstandings  and  disagreements,  some 
of  which  are  sure  to  occur  in  work  involving  such  an 
infinite  variety  of  details. 

A  smaller  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  would  seem 
to  have  been  better  adapted  to  the  work.  It  became 
necessary,  in  the  course  of  our  committee's  work,  to  reduce 
the  number  for  a  quorum  to  five  out  of  thirteen  members 
in  order  to  permit  the  transaction  of  business.  A  com- 
mittee of  seven  would  probably  have  been  better  than 
thirteen.  A  further  improvement  would  have  been  the 
organization  of  a  bureau  or  department  of  concessions,  in 
charge  of  a  chief,  equal  in  efficiency  and  capacity  to  our 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  95 

superintendent  of  collections.  Attached  to  his  office,  or  in 
close  proximity,  should  have  been  a  talented,  industrious, 
painstaking  attorney  with  sufficient  experience  to  enable  him 
to  perfect  the  details  of  a  great  variety  of  contracts,  in  the 
framing  of  which  he  would  be  almost  entirely  without  the 
advantage  of  precedents. 

With  such  an  organization  the  following  results  might 
be  hoped  for:  The  chief,  with  a  proper  force,  receiving 
and  investigating  applications  for  concessions,  securing  at 
the  same  time  from  the  construction  department  data  as 
to  available  locations,  looking  into  the  character  and  stand- 
ing of  would-be  concessionaires  and  the  possibilities  of 
the  lines  of  business  which  they  propose  to  conduct,  would 
submit  the  results  of  his  investigations  to  a  small  com- 
mittee, meeting  daily,  or  at  least  four  times  a  week,  com- 
posed of  men  equal  in  character  and  business  qualifications 
to  the  members  of  our  admirable  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means.  This  committee  would  be  relieved  of  the 
attention  to  details  which  burdened  our  committee  in  the 
consideration  of  concessions.  It  could  concentrate  its 
attention  upon  the  important  elements  of  a  problem,  the 
facts  having  been  gathered  for  it  in  advance.  If  neces- 
sary, it  could  send  subcommittees  of  its  own  members  to 
visit  countries  to  which  concessions  related,  or  could 
delegate  this  work  to  commissioners  appointed  for  such 
and  other  Exposition  purposes.  Thus  the  hurry  and  con- 
fusion, the  makeshifts  and  temporary  expedients,  and  a 
large  part  of  the  misunderstandings  which  arose  in  the 
conduct  of  our  Exposition,  might  possibly  be  avoided. 
Not  the  least  important  of  the  functions  of  the  pro- 
posed committee  would  be  that  of  giving  confidence  to 
the  stockholders  and  the  general  public  that,  in  the  grant- 
ing of  concessions,  no  favoritism  or  corrupt  practice  could 
by  any  possibility  obtain.  This  result  our  Exposition 


96  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

secured  in  the  highest  degree,  for  the  character  of  its 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  placed  its  work  above  any 
suspicion  of  partiality  or  dishonesty. 

Under  instructions  from  the  Board  of  Directors,  in 
May,  1892,  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  undertook 
to  organize  a  Bureau  of  Public  Comfort,  and  for  that 
purpose  created  a  Board  of  Control  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Butler,  Waller,  and  your  president,  then  chairman  of 
the  committee.  W.  Marsh  Kasson  was  appointed  chief 
of  the  bureau.  Mr.  Kasson  had  had  some  experience  in 
this  work  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  1876.  He  laid 
out  comprehensive  plans  for  the  proposed  work.  These 
plans  included  a  rooming  department  to  provide  lodgings 
for  visitors  who  might  desire  such  assistance.  The  most 
important  task  was  to  provide  places  on  the  grounds  where 
visitors  could  rest,  eat  lunches,  procure  light,  inexpensive 
refreshments,  especially  where  women  and  children  might 
come  to  recuperate,  thus  preventing  them  from  overtax- 
ing their  strength  to  an  extent  likely  to  send  them  home 
ill  through  exhaustion,  or  to  bring  them  into  the  emer- 
gency hospital  before  the  close  of  the  day.  It  was  planned 
that  such  resting  places  would  be  established  in  various 
parts  of  the  grounds,  and  that  some  inexpensive  articles, 
such  as  fans,  canes,  photographs,  souvenirs,  cigars,  etc., 
would  be  sold  in  these  places,  in  addition  to  light  refresh- 
ments, thus  providing  certain  features  from  which  revenue 
might  be  derived.  An  exclusive  par  eel- checking  privilege 
for  the  grounds  was  included  in  the  scheme  of  public 
comfort,  but  this  was  afterward  made  a  separate  concession. 

Several  unfortunate  circumstances  militated  against  the 
Bureau  of  Public  Comfort.  Mr.  Kasson,  who  entered  the 
service  apparently  in  excellent  health,  and  certainly  with 
a  mind  alert,  active,  and  well  schooled  for  the  task  which 
he  was  to  undertake,  soon  fell  a  victim  to  an  organic 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  97 

disease  which  caused  him  to  withdraw  from  work.  He 
died  before  the  Exposition  was  opened.  The  work  was 
continued  by  his  assistant,  W.  P.  Stewart.  The  plans  of 
the  Bureau  of  Public  Comfort  were  not  well  supported  in 
the  Department  of  Works.  The  bureau  was  not  thoroughly 
understood  and  Mr.  Kasson's  illness  prevented  him  from 
getting  into  touch  with  the  Department  of  Works  in  time 
to  have  his  plans  thoroughly  considered  while  the  details 
of  the  Exposition  were  being  developed. 

To  the  Bureau  of  Public  Comfort  was  allotted  a  station 
in  the  Terminal  Building,  one  in  the  Casino,  and  a  third 
in  a  triangular  building  erected  for  the  purpose  just  north 
of  the  Woman's  Building,  and  not  far  from  the  east  end 
of  the  Midway  Plaisance.  The  headquarters  were  in  the 
Terminal  Building,  where  adequate  preparations  were  made 
in  cool  waiting-rooms,  with  easy  wicker  chairs,  toilet  rooms, 
and  a  piano.  Attendants  were  always  in  waiting,  and 
those  who  succeeded  in  finding  this  station  were  always 
delighted  with  it  and  loud  in  their  praises  of  the  thought- 
fulness  of  the  management.  As  the  Terminal  Building 
was  itself  little  used,  this  station  of  the  bureau  benefited 
comparatively  few  people. 

The  station  in  the  Casino  was  located  on  the  first  floor 
of  that  building.  On  this  floor  the  sides  of  the  building 
were  mostly  open,  giving  a  view  of  the  lake  and  of  the 
Court  of  Honor,  and  making  a  situation  delightful  in  warm 
weather,  but  less  so  in  the  colder  days  of  the  earlier  and 
later  parts  of  the  Exposition.  The  restaurant,  which 
occupied  the  upper  floors  of  this  building,  failed  soon  after 
the  Exposition  opened,  and  as  relatively  few  visitors  came 
to  the  park  by  water,  this  station  was  only  moderately 
successful.  The  comfortable  seats  provided  here  were  grate- 
ful, especially  on  warm  and  crowded  days,  when  the  Lake 
Front  was  very  attractive  and  this  station  had  fair  patronage. 


98  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  third  station  in  the  triangular  building  was  best 
situated  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public.  Unfortu- 
nately the  restaurant  established  here  was  not  properly 
managed.  In  spite  of  several  efforts  and  the  personal 
attention  of  your  president,  this  unsatisfactory  condition 
could  not  be  remedied.  There  was  a  general  air  of  slov- 
enliness and  everything  was  the  reverse  of  attractive  to 
women  and  children,  for  whose  comfort  it  had  been  spe- 
cially designed.  Attempts  were  frequently  made  to  sell 
beer,  and  noise  and  uncleanliness  prevailed  instead  of  the 
order,  comfort,  and  quiet  repose  which  attracted  to  rest 
in  the  Terminal  Building. 

Thus,  to  a  large  extent,  the  efforts  of  the  Bureau  of 
Public  Comfort  became  ineffectual.  Its  place  was  supplied 
by  other  agencies.  The  Council  of  Administration  ordered 
benches  and  chairs  capable  of  seating  30,000  people,  and 
directed  that  they  be  placed  in  various  parts  of  the  grounds, 
especially  in  the  Court  of  Honor.  The  concessions  for 
rolling  chairs  and  camp  chairs  supplied  other  means  of 
rest.  Then  each  of  the  State  buildings  became,  to  an 
extent,  a  veritable  public  comfort  station.  Visitors  natu- 
rally sought  the  buildings  erected  by  their  respective 
States.  They  made  appointments  to  meet  there.  They 
rested  in  the  easy  chairs  in  the  rooms  and  on  the  verandas. 
In  some  cases  parcels  were  checked  there,  although  in 
violation  of  a  concession  granted  by  the  Exposition  man- 
agement. This  infraction  of  the  rules  could  not  be  pre- 
vented, although  it  made  the  checking  privileges  practically 
worthless  and  laid  your  company  open  to  an  attempt  to 
collect  damages.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  concession- 
aires this  contingency  was  avoided. 

The  rooming  department  of  the  Bureau  of  Public 
Comfort  suffered  likewise  on  account  of  the  ill  health 
of  Mr.  Kasson.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  man- 


CONCESSIONS  AND  PUBLIC  COMFORT.  99 

agement  of  an  exposition  should  not  attempt  to  find 
lodgings  for  visitors,  a  matter  wholly  without  the  scope  of 
the  exposition  and  very  difficult  of  satisfactory  adjust- 
ment. Very  little  demand  for  such  a  lodging  bureau 
appeared,  the  visitors  manifesting  in  this,  as  in  other 
matters,  a  decided  preference  for  taking  care  of  them- 
selves. Under  the  conditions  prevailing  in  Chicago,  where 
accommodations  for  the  multitude  were  largely  in  excess 
of  the  probable  demand,  there  was  little  danger  of  extor- 
tion being  practiced  upon  persons  of  ordinary  intelligence. 
I  would  hesitate  to  recommend  such  a  feature  in  connec- 
tion with  an  exposition  unless  it  should  become  clearly 
apparent  to  the  management,  in  advance,  that  there  was 
danger  of  extortionate  rates  being  exacted  for  lodgings, 
or  unless  a  general  and  firm  impression  existed  throughout 
the  country  that  such  extortion  would  be  practiced.  In 
that  case  such  a  provision  might  have  a  beneficial  effect. 
In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  remark  that  some  inter- 
esting facts  as  to  the  conduct  of  large  assemblages  of 
Americans  were  learned  by  your  officers  during  the  course 
of  the  Exposition  work.  It  would  be  safe  to  assume  always 
that  the  intelligence  displayed  by  a  large  gathering  will 
be  less  than  the  average  intelligence  of  the  individuals 
composing  it.  Large  crowds  are  susceptible  to  panic  or  to 
bad  judgment,  and  prone  to  become  excited.  Strangers  in 
a  large  city  sometimes  seem  to  have  left  all  their  prudence 
and  common  sense  behind  them.  Of  all  the  things  that 
troubled  the  minds  and  imaginations  of  the  Exposition 
management  —  directors,  officers,  and  employes  —  the  fear 
of  panic,  injury,  loss  of  lives  of  visitors  or  employes,  or 
of  extortionate  practices  which  might  give  the  city  a  bad 
name,  were  the  most  constant  and  unremitting.  To  this 
was  due  the  creation  of  the  Columbian  Guard,  numerically 
stronger  than  the  police  force  of  New  York  or  Chicago, 


IOO  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  unusual  and  expensive  fire  protection,  and  the  efforts 
to  take  especial  care  of  the  public  comfort  by  means  of 
places  of  rest,  and  the  employment  of  the  best  and  most 
modern  facilities  for  caring  for  the  sick  or  injured.  The 
extraordinary  sewerage  and  water  supply  systems  and  de- 
vices for  detecting  impurities  and  disease  are  referred  to 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  construction. 

But  all  of  these  precautions  and  provisions  were  seconded 
and  aided  to  a  marvelous  extent  by  the  public  itself.  The 
predominant  characteristic  of  the  gatherings  on  the  grounds 
or  at  the  railroad  stations  and  other  approaches  was  good 
humor,  not  so  much  of  the  rollicking  as  of  the  patient  and 
cheerful  kind.  Forbearance  would,  perhaps,  be  a  better 
word.  The  city's  accommodations  were  too  great  to  permit 
the  successful  practice  of  extortion.  The  gatherings  were 
too  intelligent  to  give  way  to  panic,  and  too  forbearant  to 
manifest  ill-temper  in  any  other  way  than  by  individual 
complaints  to  the  newspapers.  The  latter,  of  course,  is  the 
individual's  inalienable  privilege,  and  as  it  is  quite  certain 
to  lead  to  the  correction  of  genuine  abuses,  it  is  vastly 
better  than  ill-temper,  riot,  or  vandalism. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION. 

THE  Act  of  Congress  of  April  25,  1890,  providing  for 
the  holding  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
recognized  two  agencies  for  the  preparation  of 
the  Exposition  and  its  general  supervision;  these 
were  a  body  to  be  known  as  the  World's  Columbian  Com- 
mission and  your  corporation,  then  known  as  the  World's 
Exposition  of  1892. 

The  World's  Columbian  Commission,  under  the  Act  of 
Congress,  was  to  consist  of  two  commissioners  from  each 
State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  eight  commissioners  at  large. 
All  the  commissioners  were  to  be  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  those  from  the  States  and 
Territories  upon  the  nomination  of  the  respective  Governors 
thereof.  In  like  manner  alternate  commissioners  were  to 
be  appointed  to  assume  and  perform  the  duties  of  their 
respective  principals  who  should,  for  any  cause,  be  unable 
to  perform  them  themselves.  The  commissioners  were  to 
be  appointed  within  thirty  days  after  the  passage  of  the 
Act;  they  were  to  be  convened  by  the  Secretary  of  State 
in  the  city  of  Chicago  as  soon  as  convenient  after  their 
appointment;  they  were  to  organize  by  the  election  of  such 
officers  and  the  appointment  of  such  committees  as  they 
might  deem  convenient.  The  Commission  was  empowered 
to  accept  a  site  for  the  Exposition  and  to  approve  the  plans 
and  specifications  for  buildings,  to  be  tendered  for  that  pur- 
pose by  your  company,  provided  the  Commission  deemed 

(101) 


102  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

such  site  and  plans  adequate  for  the  purposes  intended. 
The  Commission  was  also  required  to  certify  that  your 
company  had  acquired  actual  and  bona  fide  subscriptions 
to  its  capital  stock  which  would  secure  the  payment  of 
at  least  $5,000,000,  of  which  sum  not  less  than  $500,000 
should  be  already  paid  into  the  treasury;  and  that  the 
further  sum  of  $5,000,000,  making1  in  all  $10,000,000,  would 
be  provided  by  your  corporation  in  ample  time  for  its 
needful  use  during  the  prosecution  of  the  work  for  the 
complete  preparation  of  the  Exposition. 

The  Commission  was  empowered  to  determine  the  plan 
and  scope  of  the  Exposition,  to  prepare  a  classification  of 
exhibits,  to  allot  space  to  exhibitors,  to  appoint  all  judges 
and  examiners,  award  all  premiums,  if  any,  "  and  generally 
to  have  charge  of  all  intercourse  with  the  exhibitors  and 
representatives  of  foreign  nations." 

It  was  authorized  and  required  to  appoint  a  Board  of 
Lady  Managers  of  such  number  and  to  perform  such  duties 
as  might  be  prescribed  by  the  Commission. 

The  Act  further  provided  that  after  the  plans  for  the 
Exposition  had  been  prepared  by  your  company  and 
approved  by  the  Commission,  the  rules  and  regulations  of 
your  company  governing  rates  for  entrance  and  admis- 
sion fees,  or  otherwise  affecting  the  rights,  privileges,  or 
interests  of  the  exhibitors  or  of  the  public,  should  be  estab- 
lished by  your  company,  subject  to  such  modifications, 
if  any,  as  might  be  imposed  "by  a  majority  of  said 
commissioners. ' ' 

The  Act  further  provided  for  a  naval  review  to  be  held 
in  New  York  Harbor  in  April,  1893,  just  prior  to  the  open- 
ing of  the  Exposition,  and  that  foreign  nations  be  invited 
to  participate  in  this  review.  It  also  provided  for  the 
dedication  of  the  buildings  of  the  Exposition  with  appro- 
priate ceremonies,  on  the  i2th  of  October,  1892,  that  day 


THE   WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION.       103 

l^eing,  under  the  old-style  calendar,  the  four  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America. 

It  provided  that  when  the  Commission  had  accepted 
the  site  and  approved  the  plans  and  specifications,  and  had 
become  satisfied  that  not  less  than  $10,000,000  had  been 
provided  by  your  corporation,  it  should  so  report  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  who  would  thereupon  make 
proclamation  of  the  Exposition,  and  through  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  extend  invitations  to  the  nations  of  the  earth 
to  participate  in  the  Exposition. 

It  further  provided  for  the  admission  of  dutiable  goods, 
as  exhibits,  free  of  duty,  and  appropriated  $20,000  to  be 
expended  in  connection  with  the  admission  of  foreign 
goods  for  the  Exposition.  It  provided  that  the  Commission 
should  report  from  time  to  time  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  as  to  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  fixed 
the  limit  of  its  existence  at  January  i,  1898. 

The  Act  provided  that  the  United  States  should  not, 
in  any  manner,  be  liable  for  the  acts,  doings,  proceed- 
ings, or  representations  of  your  company,  all  financial 
responsibility  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment for  the  doings  of  your  company  being  expressly 
waived. 

A  Government  exhibit  was  provided  for  under  the 
management  of  a  board  to  consist  of  one  person  appointed 
by  the  head  of  each  executive  department  of  the  National 
Government,  one  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Na- 
tional Museum,  and  one  by  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission. This  board  was  to  prepare  from  the  depart- 
ments and  institutions  which  they  severally  represented, 
an  exhibit  of  such  articles  and  materials  as  would  illus- 
trate the  function  and  administrative  faculty  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  time  of  peace  and  its  resources  as  a  war  power, 
and  demonstrate  the  nature  of  the  institutions  of  our 


104  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

country  and  their  adaptability  to  the  wants  of  the  people. 
A  building  for  this  exhibit  was  to  be  erected  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  at  a  cost  not 
to  exceed  $400,000.  The  extreme  liability  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  on  account  of  the  erection  of 
buildings,  the  expenses  of  the  Commission,  or  of  its  officers 
or  employes,  was  not  to  exceed  $1,500,000.  The  members 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  and  their  alternates 
were  not  to  be  entitled  to  any  compensation  for  their 
services  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  except 
their  actual  expenses  for  transportation  and  the  sum  of 
$6  per  day  for  subsistence  for  each  day  they  were  neces- 
sarily absent  from  their  homes  on  the  business  of  the 
Commission.  The  salaries  of  the  officers  of  the  Commis- 
sion were  to  be  fixed  by  that  body. 

Pursuant  to  the  above  Act,  the  members  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission,  duly  appointed,  assembled  in 
Chicago  June  26,  1890.  The  meeting  was  organized  by 
the  election  of  John  T.  Harris,  commissioner  from  Virginia, 
as  temporary  chairman,  and  R.  R.  Price  as  temporary  sec- 
retary. A  committee  of  twelve  on  permanent  organization 
was  instructed  to  recommend  a  list  of  permanent  officers 
and  to  define  their  duties,  and  also  to  report  what  standing 
committees  should  be  appointed  and  what  should  be  their 
duties  and  powers.  On  the  following  day  the  Commission 
elected  Thomas  W.  Palmer  of  Michigan,  its  president,  and 
John  T.  Dickinson  of  Texas,  its  secretary,  and  the  following 
vice-presidents:  Thomas  M.  Waller  of  Connecticut,  M.  H. 
de  Young  of  California,  Davidson  B.  Penn  of  Louisiana, 
Gorton  W.  Allen  of  New  York,  Alexander  B.  Andrews  of 
North  Carolina. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  ascertain  and  report  to 
the  Commission  whether  or  not  the  company  had  an 
actual  and  bona  fide  subscription  of  $5,000,000  to  its  capital 


THE   WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION.       105 

stock,  and  whether  your  company  had  $10,000,000  in  actual 
resources,  as  provided  in  the  Act  of  Congress. 

An  Executive  Committee  of  twenty-six  commissioners 
was  appointed ;  also  committees  on  Rules,  Transportation, 
Foreign  Affairs,  Legislation,  Classification,  Grounds  and 
Buildings,  Auditing,  and  the  various  divisions  of  arts  and 
industries  to  which  the  Exposition  would  relate. 

A  Board  of  Lady  Managers  was  provided  for,  to  consist 
of  two  ladies  from  each  of  the  States  and  Territories  and 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  eight  at  large,  with  alternates, 
making  a  body  in  number  and  arrangement  similar  to  the 
Commission  itself. 

The  Commission  held  three  sessions  in  1890 — the  first, 
June  26th  to  July  3d;  second,  September  i5th  to  September 
23d;  third,  November  i8th  to  November  26th.  The  prin- 
cipal topics  considered  were  the  plan  and  scope  of  the 
Exposition,  which  included  the  classification,  the  site  of 
the  Exposition,  the  appointment  of  a  director-general,  and 
the  various  questions  relating  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Commission  and  of  your  company. 

On  July  1 8,  1890,  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Organi- 
zation commissioned  G.  Brown  Goode,  assistant  secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  prepare  a  system  of 
groupings  and  classification  for  the  exhibits.  This  work, 
which  represented-  much  research  and  careful  examination 
of  the  classifications  of  previous  expositions,  and  was 
arranged  in  an  orderly  and  logical  form,  was  completed 
by  Mr.  Goode  in  a  few  weeks.  The  classification  as  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Goode  was  not  adopted,  but  formed  a  basis 
for  the  work  of  the  Committee  on  Classification,  which,  on 
November  18,  1890,  presented  to  the  Commission  a  classifi- 
cation prepared  by  itself,  assisted  by  Mr.  Goode,  Prof. 
William  P.  Blake  of  Connecticut,  and  others.  On  Novem- 
ber 19,  1890,  the  Commission  adopted  this  classification, 


106  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

subject  to  such  revision  as  might  subsequently  be  found 
necessary. 

The  controversy  as  to  the  site  for  the  Exposition  has 
already  been  fully  described  in  Chapter  III.  On  Septem- 
ber 23,  1890,  the  (Commission  formally  accepted  the  whole 
site  as  tendered  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  your  company, 
including  in  its  possibilities  the  Lake  Front,  Jackson  Park, 
the  Midway  Plaisance,  and  Washington  Park.  The  fact 
that  this  action  was  final  was  emphasized  by  the  Commis- 
sion because  of  the  conflicting  rumors  widely  circulated  as 
to  the  difficulties  in  which  the  Exposition  was  involved, 
especially  regarding  the  question  of  site. 

The  selection  of  the  director-general  was  involved  in 
the  question  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  two  bodies,  and 
both  of  these  matters  occupied  much  time  during  the 
sessions  of  the  Commission  held  in  September  and  No- 
vember, 1890.  The  Board  of  Directors  of  your  company 
desired  to  concentrate  in  its  own  hands  as  much  executive 
power  as  possible.  Having  corporate  existence  and  organ- 
ization, a  smaller  governing  body,  permanent  location  in 
Chicago,  and  being  charged  with  the  disbursement  of  the 
funds  raised  for  preparing  the  Exposition,  it  was  in  a  better 
position  for  active  work.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Commis- 
sion, called  into  existence  by  the  Act  of  Congress,  which 
authorized  the  Exposition  and  gave  it  a  national  character, 
believing  itself  to  be  a  body  of  national  importance,  inas- 
much as  it  was  charged  with  such  functions  as  the  deter- 
mination of  the  plan  and  scope  of  the  Exposition,  the 
approval  of  plans  and  specifications  of  buildings,  the  allot- 
ment of  space  to  exhibitors,  and  the  exclusive  intercourse 
with  the  exhibitors  and  representatives  of  foreign  nations, 
and  realizing  that  the  funds  of  this  company  were  necessary 
to  carry  these  powers  into  effect,  sought  to  control  the 
action  of  your  company,  upon  the  theory  that  the  funds  of 


THE   WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION.       107 

the  company  formed  a  "quasi  public  fund,  dedicated  by 
the  Act  of  Congress,  with  the  consent  of  the  Illinois  cor- 
poration, to  a  specific  purpose,  and  to  be  controlled  and 
expended  in  the  execution  of  that  purpose  by  the  agencies 
named  by  the  said  Act  of  Congress."*  By  the  "agencies 
named  by  said  Act  of  Congress,"  probably  the  select  com- 
mittee meant  the  Commission  and  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  your  company,  the  idea  being  that  the  two  bodies 
should  in  some  way  jointly  control  the  expenditure  of  the 
funds  in  your  company's  treasury. 

The  by-laws  of  each  body  provided  for  the  election  of 
a  director-general.  Each  body  felt  alarmed  at  the  prospect 
of  the  appointment  of  such  an  officer  by  the  other.  The 
decided  differences  of  opinion  upon  this  and  many  other 
subjects  were  at  times  sufficient  to  have  widened  into  a 
serious  breach,  the  differences  being  aggravated  by  news- 
paper reports  and  by  published  interviews  in  which  indi- 
vidual members  of  one  body  would  indulge  in  talk  intended 
for  effect  upon  the  members  of  the  other  body.  Too 
earnest  a  warning  can  not  be  given  against  leaving  such 
an  opening  for  discord  and  confusion  in  devising  the  organ- 
ization of  future  expositions.  The  amount  of  time  lost 
and  energy  wasted  in  the  settlement  of  disagreements 
and  in  diplomatic  maneuvers  to  avoid  disagreements,  or 
even  open  breaches,  between  these  two  bodies  was  very 
great.  The  confused  and  evil  impressions  disseminated  by 
the  exaggerated  accounts  of  these  differences  caused  incal- 
culable injury  to  the  Exposition. 

Fortunately  the  leading  minds  in  both  bodies  were 
animated  with  the  same  spirit  which  had  called  into  being 
the  plan  for  this  Exposition,  and  in  these  minds  every 
other  consideration  was  secondary  to  a  desire  for  the  per- 

*Report  of  a  Select  Committee  on  Jurisdiction,  presented  to  the  Commission 
November  21,  1890. 


108  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

feet  success  of  the  enterprise.  The  Commission  elected  a 
director-general  on  September  19,  1890.  Before  doing 
this  the  Commission  requested  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
your  company  to  indicate  its  preference  for  a  director- 
general,  and  in  reply  to  this  request  the  Board  of  Direct- 
ors, after  balloting,  expressed  a  preference  for  George 
R.  Davis  of  Chicago.  In  doing  this,  however,  the  Board 
of  Directors  emphatically  expressed  its  opinion  that  the 
director-general  should  be  considered  an  officer  of  the 
Commission  only,  and  not  an  instrument  of  your  com- 
pany; and  it  so  stated  in  the  communication  by  which 
his  name  was  transmitted  to  the  Commission.  By  the 
election  of  a  director-general  the  Commission  secured  an 
executive  head  in  charge  of  allotments  of  space  and  of 
intercourse  with  exhibitors,  and  the  questions  under  dis- 
cussion were  advanced  toward  the  stage  of  final  settle- 
ment. 

A  basis  for  such  a  settlement  was  reached  in  the  latter 
part  of  November,  1890.  On  November  2ist  the  Commis- 
sion adopted  the  report  of  the  select  committee  already 
referred  to,  setting  forth  its  view  of  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  two  bodies.  This  report  was  transmitted  to  the 
Board  of  Directors,  which  secured  the  opinion  of  eminent 
counsel  relative  thereto  and  took  a  decided  stand  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  deductions  of  the  report.  Thereupon  a  con- 
ference was  entered  into  by  representatives  of  the  two 
bodies,  which  resulted  in  the  drafting  of  a  report  by  a 
committee,  specially  appointed,  consisting  of  eight  com- 
missioners and  eight  directors,  which  report  was  unani- 
mously adopted  by  both  bodies,  and  became  thereafter 
the  basis  for  the  settlement  of  all  controversies  as  to 
jurisdiction.  It  provided  for  immediate  necessities  by 
directing  the  organization  of  fifteen  great  departments 
under  the  director-general.  These  departments  corres- 


THE   WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION.       109 

ponded  mainly  to  the  general  heads  of  the  classification  of 
exhibits,  and  were  as  follows: 

Department  A. — Agriculture;  food  and  food  products,  farming 
machinery  and  appliances. 

Department  B. —  Horticulture. 

Department  C. —  Live  stock;  domestic  and  wild  animals. 

Department  D. —  Fish;  fisheries,  fish  products,  and  apparatus  of 
fishing. 

Department  E. —  Mines,  mining,  and  metallurgy. 

Department  F. —  Machinery. 

Department  G. — Transportation  exhibits;  railways,  vessels,  vehicles. 

Department  H. —  Manufactures. 

Department  J. —  Electricity  and  electrical  appliances. 

Department  K. —  Fine  arts;  pictorial,  plastic,  decorative. 

Department  L. —  Liberal  arts;  education,  engineering,  public  works, 
architecture,  music,  and  the  drama. 

Department  M. — Ethnology;  archaeology,  progress  of  labor  and 
invention,  isolated  and  collected  exhibits. 

Department  N. —  Forestry  and  forest  products. 

Department  O. —  Publicity  and  promotion. 

Department  P. —  Foreign  affairs. 

The  chiefs  of  these  departments  were  to  be  appointed 
by  the  director-general,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Com- 
mission and  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  salaries  of  the 
chiefs  and  their  subordinates,  and  the  current  expenses  of 
their  offices,  were  to  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  your 
company,  the  amount  of  the  salaries  to  be  fixed  by  the 
director-general,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Board  of 
Directors.  The  right  was  reserved  to  the  Board  of  Direct- 
ors to  discontinue  or  to  reduce  the  appropriations  of  any 
one  or  more  of  the  departments  when,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  Board,  the  interests  of  the  Exposition  should  so  require. 
The  expenses  of  the  director-general's  office  and  his  clerk 
hire  were  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Government  appropria- 
tion for  the  World's  Columbian  Commission. 

Under  this  agreement  the  Commission  created  a  Board 
of  Reference  and  Control  consisting  of  the  president,  the 
vice-chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  six  mem- 


HO  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

bers  of  the  Commission,  to  be  appointed  by  the  president. 
This  board  was  to  have  all  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
Executive  Committee  when  the  latter  was  not  in  session, 
and,  with  a  like  committee  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
your  company,  appointed  by  its  president,  should  constitute 
a  Committee  of  Conference,  to  which  all  matters  of  differ- 
ence should  be  referred,  the  action  of  such  Committee  of 
Conference  upon  such  matters  as  should  be  referred  to  it 
being  final  and  conclusive  upon  both  bodies. 

The  agreement  also  provided  that  any  material  changes, 
modifications,  or  extensions  of  the  plans  of  the  grounds  or 
buildings  should  be  subject  to  joint  approval  by  the  Board 
of  Reference  and  Control  of  the  Commission  and  the  Com- 
mittee on  Grounds  and  Buildings  of  your  company,  and 
the  director-general  was  to  have  access  at  all  times  to  the 
grounds  and  buildings  for  the  purpose  of  inspection  and 
information. 

In  presenting  this  report  of  the  Committee  of  Confer- 
ence, the  framers  stated  that  they  had  deemed  it  best  to 
avoid  all  discussion  of  legal  issues  and  technicalities  and 
to  adopt  such  measures  as  to  them  seemed  advisable  for 
the  harmonious  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Exposi- 
tion. The  fact  is  that  to  create  such  an  organization  as 
would  have  in  it  elements  adequate  to  its  needs,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  and  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
were  compelled  to  abandon  the  strict  letter  of  the  Act  of 
Congress  and  to  proceed  with  only  a  general  reference  to 
its  provisions.  At  all  times  during  the  preparation  of  the 
Exposition  the  intercourse  between  the  two  bodies  was 
characterized  by  constant  concessions  to  expediency,  and 
differences  were  continually  arising  which  hampered  the 
work  and  lessened  the  efficiency  of  the  organization. 

The  Board  of  Lady  Managers  held  its  first  meeting  on 
November  19,  1890,  and  organized  by  the  election  of  Mrs. 


THE   WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION.       m 

Potter  Palmer  of  Chicago  as  president,  and  the  following 
vice-presidents:  Mrs.  Ralph  Trautman  of  New  York,  Mrs. 
Edwin  C.  Burleigh  of  Maine,  Mrs.  Charles  C.  Price  of  North 
Carolina,  Mrs.  Katharine  L.  Minor  of  Louisiana,  Mrs. 
Beriah  Wilkins  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Mrs.  Susan  R. 
Ashley  of  Colorado,  Mrs.  Flora  Beall  Ginty  of  Wisconsin, 
Mrs.  Margaret  Blaine  Salisbury  of  Utah,  Mrs.  Russell  B. 
Harrison  of  Montana. 

Miss  Phoebe  Cousins  of  Missouri  was  elected  secretary. 
She  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Susan  Gale  Cooke  of  Tennessee. 

Under  Mrs.  Palmer's  administration  this  board  set 
about  the  task  of  preparing  a  suitable  exhibit  of  woman's 
work. 

Plans  for  a  Woman's  Building  were  secured  by  competi- 
tion among  woman  architects;  the  plans  submitted  by  Miss 
Sophia  G.  Hayden  were  accepted.  The  building  was  con- 
structed by  your  company  at  a  cost  of  $138,803.90. 

Correspondence  was  entered  into  with  representative 
women  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  appropriations  were 
secured  from  Congress  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work;  a 
comprehensive  exhibit  of  woman's  work,  more  complete 
and  elaborate  than  had  ever  before  been  seen,  was  collected. 
A  Children's  Building  was  located  near  the  Woman's  Build- 
ing as  the  result  of  the  efforts  of  a  number  of  public-spirited 
women  identified  with  Mrs.  Palmer.  This  part  of  the 
Exposition  has  been  fully  reported  elsewhere. 

A  complete  report  has  been  prepared  by  Mrs.  Palmer 
as  president  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers,  fully  setting 
forth  the  work  which  that  body  accomplished.  Its  offices 
were  the  center  of  most  active  and  intelligent  work  in  the 
interest  of  the  Exposition  for  several  years,  resulting  in 
the  collection  of  a  large  number  of  interesting  and  beautiful 
exhibits  —  the  work  of  women  —  and  their  arrangement 
either  in  the  Woman's  Building,  where  the  display  was 


112  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

very   attractive,   or   in   their   appropriate   sections   of    the 
general  exhibit  in  competition  with  the  works  of  men. 

With  this  reference  to  the  earlier  sessions  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission,  I  pass  to  an  account  of  the  trans- 
actions of  the  Executive  Department  of  your  company, 
during  which  the  subsequent  acts  of  the  Commission  will 
be  considered  in  their  bearings  upon  the  enterprise.  The 
Commission  met  only  at  long  intervals,  its  functions  being 
performed  in  the  interim  by  monthly  or  bi-monthly  meet- 
ings of  its  Board  of  Reference  and  Control.  This  board 
consulted  and  advised  with  the  director-general  and  held 
informal  conferences  from  time  to  time  with  the  similar 
board  or  with  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings 
of  your  company.  By  this  means  its  members  kept  in  closer 
touch  with  the  work  than  was  possible  for  the  members  of 
the  Commission  in  general. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    EXECUTIVE    DEPARTMENT  ;     FOREIGN    AFFAIRS  ; 
TRANSPORTATION. 

THE  "Executive  Department"  is  meant  to  include 
the  office  of  the  president  and  those  of  the  other 
principal  officers  of  the  company  grouped  about 
him.   In  this  chapter  will  be  reviewed  the  principal 
operations  of  your  company,  aside  from  those  of  contruction 
and  finance,  from  the  time  of  its  organization  to  the  crea- 
tion of  the  Council  of  Administration,  in  August,  1892. 

From  April,  1890,  to  January  i,  1891,  the  offices  of  the 
company  occupied  a  few  rooms  in  the  Adams  Express 
Building,  No.  185  Dearborn  Street,  whence,  on  the  latter 
date,  they  were  removed  to  the  Rand-McNally  Building, 
168  Adams  Street.  Of  this  building,  the  fourth  floor,  half 
the  fifth  floor,  and  a  part  of  the  sixth  floor  were  leased 
until  May  i,  1894.  A  portion  of  this  space  was  taken  by 
the  World's  Columbian  Commission  for  the  offices  of  its 
president,  director-general,  and  secretary,  and  of  the  Board 
of  Lady  Managers.  The  remainder  was  occupied  by  the 
officers  of  your  company — the  president,  secretary,  auditor, 
and  treasurer  —  the  Law  Department,  the  committees  on 
Ways  and  Means,  on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  on  Press 
and  Printing,  and  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary.  A 
large  room  was  arranged  for  meetings  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  which  held  its  regular  meetings  on  the  second 
Friday  of  each  month.  This  room  was  also  used  by  the 
committees  of  the  Board,  particularly  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, which  met  regularly  once  a  week,  and  the  Commit- 

8  (113) 


114  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

tee  on  Ways  and  Means,  which  met  from  three  to  six 
times  a  week.  The  committees  on  Grounds  and  Build- 
ings, on  Ways  and  Means,  and  on  Transportation  also  had 
offices  for  the  transaction  of  current  business. 

While  the  duties  of  the  president  were  not  defined,  he 
had  the  authority  usually  exercised  by  the  president  of  a 
corporation  organized  for  business  purposes.  He  repre- 
sented the  company  in  matters  of  importance,  had  charge 
of  its  principal  negotiations,  and  the  adjustment  of  ques- 
tions arising  between  the  company  and  the  Commission. 
He  conferred  with  the  various  officers  of  the  company, 
the  secretary,  treasurer,  auditor,  and  solicitor-general,  and 
advised  them  as  to  the  policy  of  the  corporation. 

The  Executive  Committee  consisted  of  the  president, 
who  was  its  chairman,  the  vice-president,  and  the  chair- 
men of  the  various  committees;  it  exercised  the  powers 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  when  that  Board  was  not  in 
session.  Both  the  president  and  the  director-general  were 
ex-officio  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  and  of 
the  other  committees  of  the  Board.  The  president  from 
time  to  time  submitted  to  the  Executive  Committee  sub- 
jects requiring  its  consideration.  The  secretary  of  the 
Board  was  secretary  of  each  committee,  and  appointed 
assistants,  or  under-secretaries,  to  prepare  and  preserve 
the  records  of  the  committees.  Committee  proceedings 
reached  the  Executive  Committee  as  reports  or  recommen- 
dations, and  these  received  the  approval  of  the  committee 
or  of  the  Board  before  becoming  operative.  The  Commit- 
tee on  Grounds  and  Buildings  was,  however,  to  a  certain 
extent,  relieved  from  this  restriction.  It  had  power  to  act, 
through  the  Construction  Department  or  otherwise,  upon 
matters  connected  with  the  carrying  out  of  building  plans 
which  had  previously  received  a  general  approval  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  but  all  matters  which  involved  new  feat- 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  115 

tires  or  radical  departures  from  plans  previously  approved 
were  referred  to  higher  authority  before  final  adoption. 

All  contracts,  whether  for  construction,  concession,  or 
other  purposes,  were  signed  by  the  president  and  the  secre- 
tary, and  were  attested  by  the  corporate  seal.  More  than 
1,200  contracts  were  entered  into  by  the  company.  Those 
for  construction  were  prepared  in  the  Construction  Depart- 
ment, based  upon  bids  previously  accepted  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  scrutinized  with 
great  care  as  to  the  drawing  of  specifications,  etc.  After 
the  contracts  had  been  approved  by  the  chief  of  construc- 
tion they  were  referred  to  the  attorney,  an  assistant 
having  been  specially  detailed  to  attend  to  this  part  of 
the  legal  work.  The  contracts  were  drawn  in  triplicate, 
one  copy  being  filed  with  the  auditor,  a  second  with  the 
Construction  Department,  and  the  third  being  delivered 
to  the  other  contracting  party. 

Concession  contracts  were  drawn  with  great  difficulty 
because  of  the  lack  of  precedents  or  of  suitable  models 
upon  which  to  frame  them,  and  the  results  were  not  entirely 
satisfactory.  In  Chapter  V  I  have  suggested  possible 
improvements  upon  the  routine  which  was  adopted. 

All  payments  for  work  done,  materials  furnished,  etc., 
were  made  upon  vouchers.  These  originated  in  the  auditor's 
office,  were  certified  by  the  officer  under  whose  authority 
the  expenditure  was  incurred,  and  were  approved  by  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  having  jurisdiction  over  such 
officer;  they  were  then  audited  for  the  proper  amount  by 
the  auditor  and  finally  approved  by  the  president,  after 
which  checks  were  drawn  for  their  payment.  Checks  were 
drawn  by  the  treasurer  and  countersigned  by  the  auditor. 

The  labor  of  executing  contracts  and  approving  vouchers 
soon  became  very  great,  the  vouchers  frequently  number- 
ing several  hundred  each  day.  In  fact,  for  many  months 


1 1 6  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  work  of  signing  vouchers,  contracts,  letters,  and  papers 
of  all  sorts  required  several  hours  of  the  president's  time 
each  day,  and  later,  when  vouchers  were  drawn  for  pay- 
ment in  souvenir  half  dollars  out  of  the  United  States 
Treasury,  these  vouchers  being  made  in  duplicate,  each 
requiring  the  signature  of  the  president  in  two  places, 
the  labor  was  increased  fourfold.  Those  who  were  some- 
what familiar  with  the  routine  of  the  office  offered  much 
criticism  as  to  the  cumbersome  methods  of  making  pay- 
ments, but  owing  to  the  danger  of  wastefulness  and  extrava- 
gance, no  one  was  disposed  to  recommend  a  simplification  of 
these  details.  The  president  and  the  auditor  frequently 
urged  upon  each  officer  or  director,  whose  signature  to  a 
voucher  was  required,  the  need  of  great  care  and  personal 
investigation  before  affixing  such  signature.  Finally,  when 
the  vouchers  became  so  numerous  as  to  forbid  the  presi- 
dent's personal  scrutiny  of  the  amounts  for  which  they  were 
drawn,  the  secretary  of  the  Council  of  Administration  was 
instructed  to  examine  each  voucher  carefully  before  passing 
it  to  the  president  for  signature.  To  provide  for  emergen- 
cies, the  Board  of  Directors  authorized  the  secretary  of  the 
company  to  affix  the  signature  of  the  president,  at  his 
request. 

As  first  organized,  the  Executive  Department  consisted 
of  Lyman  J.  Gage,  president;  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  first  vice- 
president,  and  Potter  Palmer,  second  vice-president.  Mr. 
Gage,  although  busily  occupied  as  vice-president  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  gave  to  the  work  of  the  Exposition 
a  large  share  of  his  time  each  day,  and  his  wisdom  and 
experience  guided  the  company  safely  through  the  diffi- 
culties which  beset  its  earlier  operations.  Mr.  Bryan  gave 
his  entire  time,  and  Mr.  Palmer  rendered  service  as  oppor- 
tunity offered. 

On  July  ii,  1890,  Benjamin  Butterworth   of  Cincinnati 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  117 

was  elected  secretary.  He  had  been  prominent  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  since  1878,  had  served  as  Commissioner  of 
Patents  during  the  latter  part  of  President  Arthur's  admin- 
istration, and  had  taken  part  in  the  preparation  and  man- 
agement of  the  Government  exhibit  at  the  Exposition  at 
New  Orleans.  He  entered  heartily  upon  his  duties  with  your 
company,  and  assisted  in  many  important  matters  during 
the  early  stages  of  the  company's  existence,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  the  appeal  to  the  State  Legislature  at 
its  special  session  in  July,  1890,  called  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  legislation  in  aid  of  the  Exposition.  He  took 
part  in  the  discussions  of  the  differences  between  the  com- 
pany and  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  and  assisted 
in  the  adjustment  of  those  differences  and  in  planning  the 
organization  of  the  departments  of  the  director-general's 
office.  At  the  same  time  he  continued  to  serve  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Fifty-first  Congress,  and  during  the  following 
winter  he  became  the  champion  of  the  Exposition  upon 
the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  Exposition  was  subjected  at  this  time  to  an 
amount  of  criticism  and  misrepresentation  through  the 
press,  especially  in  cities  which  had  contended  with  Chicago 
for  the  Exposition,  which  was  decidedly  discouraging,  and 
rendered  doubtful  the  possibility  of  securing  that  coopera- 
tion throughout  the  country  necessary  to  give  the  Exposi- 
tion a  national  character.  Because  of  this  criticism  and 
the  differences  between  your  company  and  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission,  a  committee  from  the  House  of 
Representatives  visited  Chicago  in  November,  1890,  to 
investigate  and  report  upon  the  progress  of  the  work. 
The  Exposition  greatly  needed  a  strong  and  able  advocate 
to  explain  its  difficulties  and  champion  its  cause,  both 
before  the  Congressional  Committee  and  in  Congress  as 
well,  and  for  this  purpose  Mr.  Butterworth  was  admirably 


1 1 8  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

adapted.  In  reply  to  many  criticisms  and  in  defense  of 
the  bill  appropriating  money  for  the  current  expenses  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  he  was  able,  by  means 
of  a  speech  in  the  House,  to  place  the  enterprise  and  its 
management  in  the  proper  light  before  Congress  and  the 
country,  and  to  show  that  the  difficulties  experienced  in 
organizing  the  administrative  forces  of  the  Exposition 
were  not  due  to  incompetent  management  by  your  com- 
pany, but  to  the  unfortunate  terms  of  the  Act  of  Congress 
authorizing  the  Exposition. 

With  the  adoption  of  the  compact  between  the  two 
bodies  in  November,  1890  (Chapter  VI),  the  way  was  opened 
for  effective  work  in  every  direction.  A  site  had  been 
accepted.  Ten  millions  of  dollars  had  been  provided.  The 
conditions  prescribed  by  Congress  as  precedent  to  the  issu- 
ance of  the  President's  proclamation  had  been  fulfilled. 
Evidence  of  these  facts  was  presented  to  the  President  by 
Mr.  Peck  and  Mr.  Butterworth,  and  being  found  satis- 
factory, on  December  24,  1890,  the  proclamation  was  issued. 

Recognizing  Mr.  Butter  worth's  services,  and  wishing  to 
enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  activity,  the  Board,  on  February 
n,  1891,  appointed  him  solicitor-general,  and  this  office  he 
held,  in  addition  to  that  of  secretary,  until  April,  1892. 

Upon  the  adoption  of  the  compact  between  the  two 
bodies  in  November,  1890,  the  director-general  began  the 
organization  of  the  departments  provided  for  therein.  He 
appointed  William  I.  Buchanan  chief  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  in  December,  1890,  and  gave  into  his  charge 
also  the  departments  of  Live  Stock  and  Forestry.  At  the 
same  time  he  appointed  Major  Moses  P.  Handy  chief  of 
the  Department  of  Publicity  and  Promotion.  He  also 
appointed  several  secretaries,  and  gave  them  charge  of 
preliminary  work  in  connection  with  other  departments, 
thus  delaying  the  appointment  of  department  chiefs  until 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  119 

later,  and  giving  him  time  to  make  suitable  selections 
for  these  important  offices.  The  appointments  of  these  two 
chiefs  were  presented  to  the  Board  of  Directors  by  the 
director-general  in  person,  and  he  outlined  his  plans  as 
far  as  possible  at  the  time,  in  an  address  to  the  Board. 
The  appointments  were  promptly  approved,  and  the  salaries 
were  fixed  at  the  rate  of  $5,000  per  annum.  This  rate 
of  compensation  was  adopted  for  all  of  the  department 
chiefs  subsequently  appointed,  with  a  few  exceptions. 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  your  company  a  com- 
mittee of  citizens  of  Chicago  had  been  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  the  holding  of  congresses  and  con- 
ventions representing  various  lines  of  human  thought  and 
activity  during  the  progress  of  the  proposed  exposition. 
In  the  fall  of  1890  this  committee  was  reorganized  under 
the  name  of  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  with  Charles  C.  Bonney  as  presi- 
dent; Thomas  B.  Bryan,  vice-president;  Lyman  J.  Gage, 
treasurer,  and  Benjamin  Butterworth,  secretary. 

From  this  time  forward  Mr.  Bonney  gave  at  least  one- 
half  of  his  time  daily  to  this  work,  and  received  salary 
at  the  rate  of  $5,000  per  annum.  The  result  of  his  labors 
will  be  referred  to  in  Appendix  A. 

The  preparation  of  the  budget  of  February,  1891,  occupied 
the  Executive  Department  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
winter  (see  Chapter  IV).  By  the  adoption  of  this  budget 
the  vexed  question  of  the  use  of  the  Lake  Front  was 
laid  at  rest  and  the  energies  of  the  management  were 
concentrated,  as  had  been  impossible  before,  upon  the 
preparation  of  Jackson  Park. 

At  the  same  time  preparations  were  made  for  hold- 
ing the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  com- 
pany. The  by-laws  fixed  this  meeting  upon  the  first 
Saturday  in  April.  Thirty  thousand  stockholders  were 


120  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

entitled  to  vote,  and  in  view  of  the  confusion  which  had 
occurred  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  rules 
were  adopted  for  the  ensuing  election  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  a  speedy  organization  and  an  accurate  account 
and  record  of  the  votes  cast  for  directors.  After  much  discus- 
sion, and  upon  the  advice  of  Mr.  Butterworth  and  Messrs. 
Walker  and  Winston,  of  the  Committee  on  Legislation,  a 
plan  was  arranged.  The  meeting  was  called  and  held  at 
Battery  D,  upon  the  Lake  Front.  A  resolution  was  adopted 
fixing  the  time  for  the  election  of  directors  ten  days  later, 
and  directing  that  every  proxy  be  registered  in  the  office 
of  the  secretary  several  days  before  the  date  fixed  for  the 
election.  The  arrangement  worked  admirably.  A  large 
force  in  the  secretary's  office,  working  day  and  night,  care- 
fully entered  all  proxies  in  a  ledger,  which  showed  the 
number  of  shares  each  person  was  entitled  to  vote  upon 
because  of  proxies  filed  in  his  favor  up  to  the  close  of 
the  time  fixed  for  registration.  The  election  was  held 
without  confusion  and  the  following  new  members  were 
elected  to  the  Board:  C.  K.  G.  Billings,  Isaac  N.  Camp, 
William  J.  Chalmers,  Robert  C.  Clowry,  George  B.  Harris, 
Egbert  Jamieson,  William  D.  Kerfoot,  Milton  W.  Kirk, 
William  P.  Ketcham,  Alexander  H.  Revell,  Edward  P. 
Ripley,  A.  M.  Rothschild,  George  W.  Saul,  George  Schneider, 
James  W.  Scott,  Bernard  E.  Sunny,  Hempstead  Washburne 
(Mayor),  John  C.  Welling. 

The  members  who  retired  were  Messrs.  Aldis,  Allerton, 
Borner,  Crawford,  Cregier,  Colvin,  Farwell,  Fish,  Keyes, 
McCormick,  Medill,  Peasley,  Pike,  Seeberger,  Strong,  Walsh, 
and  Wheeler.  Messrs.  Chalmers,  Clowry,  and  Kerfoot  had 
already  served  some  months  on  the  Board,  having  been 
elected  to  fill  vacancies  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1890. 

Before  this  election  Mr.  Gage  announced  that  he  could 
not  serve  again  as  president,  because  of  the  pressure  of  his 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  121 

private  business.  Shortly  before  the  election  he  presented 
to  the  Board  of  Directors  an  address  in  which  he  discussed 
the  salient  features  of  the  situation,  past,  present,  and  pros- 
pective, and  his  words  made  a  deep  impression  on  all  minds. 

This  address  was  printed  and  distributed  as  the  first 
annual  report  of  the  president  of  your  company.  It  was  an 
admirable  presentation  of  the  clear  ideas  and  the  firm  grasp 
which  Mr.  Gage  had  of  the  conditions  and  the  demands 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

The  compact  between  the  Commission  and  the  Board 
of  Directors,  adopted  in  November,  1890,  had  made  inroads 
upon  the  organization  originally  adopted  in  the  by-laws  of 
your  company.  The  by-laws  and  the  committee  list  of 
the  Board  of  Directors  were  therefore  revised.  All  direct 
jurisdiction  over  exhibits  and  such  other  matters  as 
were  to  be  administered  through  the  departments  under 
the  director-general  was  eliminated.  The  committees,  as 
newly  arranged,  had,  in  some  cases,  authority  over  affairs 
directly  controlled  by  the  company,  and  in  others  had 
power  to  inspect  and  report  upon  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  director-general.  The  amended  by-laws  were 
adopted  in  March,  1891.  The  new  Board,  elected  as  before 
described,  elected  William  T.  Baker  to  succeed  Mr.  Gage, 
and  reflected  all  of  the  other  officers. 

Upon  assuming  office,  President  Baker  appointed  the 
following  committees: 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINANCE. 
Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  Chairman. 

Lyman  J.  Gage.  Elbridge  G.  Keith. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham.  John  J.  P.  Odell. 

COMMITTEE  ON  GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS. 

Edward  T.  Jeffery,  Chairman. 
Lyman  J.  Gage.  George  W.  Saul. 

William  P.  Ketcham.  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

Edward  F.  Lawrence.  Robert  A.  Waller. 


122  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT, 

COMMITTEE  ON  LEGISLATION. 

Edwin  Walker,  Chairman. 

Egbert  Jamieson.  Erskine  M.  Phelps. 

Ferdinand  W.  Peck.  Frederick  S.  Winston. 

COMMITTEE  ON  AGRICULTURE. 
William  D.  Kerfoot,  Chairman. 

Isaac  N.  Camp.  Edward  F.  Lawrence. 

William  P.  Ketcham.  Thies  J.  Lefens. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MINES,  MINING,  FORESTRY,  AND  FISH. 

Charles  H.  Schwab,  Chairman. 

William  J.  Chalmers.  Bernard  E.  Sunny. 

Robert  Nelson.  John  C.  Welling. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PRESS  AND  PRINTING. 

James  W.  Scott,  Chairman. 

Edward  B.  Butler.  Alexander  H.  Revell. 

Milton  W.  Kirk.  George  Schneider. 

COMMITTEE  ON  TRANSPORTATION. 
Marshall  M.  Kirkman,  Chairman. 
George  B.  Harris.  George  W.  Saul. 

Edward  P.  Ripley.  John  C.  Welling. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINE  ARTS. 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  Chairman. 
James  W.  Ellsworth.  Martin  A.  Ryerson. 

Potter  Palmer.  Charles  T.  Yerkes. 

COMMITTEE  ON  LIBERAL  ARTS. 

Robert  A.  Waller,  Chairman. 

Isaac  N.  Camp.  Egbert  Jamieson. 

Charles  L.  Hutchinson.  Alexander  H.  Revell. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MACHINERY  AND  ELECTRICAL  APPLIANCES. 

Robert  C.  Clowry,  Chairman. 

C.  K.  G.  Billings.  Bernard  E.  Sunny. 

Robert  Nelson.  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MANUFACTURES. 
Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  Chairman. 
Adolph  Nathan.  Erskine  M.  Phelps. 

Elbridge  G.  Keith.  A.  M.  Rothschild. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  EXHIBITS. 

Martin  A.  Ryerson,  Chairman. 

James  W.  Ellsworth.  Herman  H.  Kohlsaat. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham.  Thies  J.  Lefens. 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  123 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 

Lyman  J.  Gage,  Chairman. 

Edward  B.  Butler.  Edward  F.  Lawrence. 

William  J.  Chalmers.  Adolph  Nathan. 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham.  Edward  P.  Ripley. 

William  D.  Kerfoot.  George  Schneider. 

Milton  W.  Kirk.  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

Herman  H.  Kohlsaat.  Robert  A.  Waller. 

The  committees  on  exhibits  were  intended  to  exercise 
a  general  supervision  over  the  departments  dealing  with 
such  exhibits,  to  advise  with  and  assist  the  chiefs  of  such 
departments  and  to  control  expenditures  in  connection 
therewith.  In  some  cases  where  committees  kept  in  active 
touch  with  their  departments  and  held  frequent  meetings, 
good  results  were  obtained;  in  others  the  committees  failed 
to  act  as  intended,  held  meetings  infrequently,  and  were 
soon  out  of  touch  with  the  work  which  they  were  intended 
to  supervise.  This  was  not  wholly  the  fault  of  the  com- 
mittees, but  was  rather  the  result  of  circumstances  and  of 
the  pressure  of  other  Exposition  business,  particularly  ques- 
tions of  finance.  Besides  this  the  feeling  of  distrust  which 
had  existed  between  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Direct- 
ors and  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  was  very 
slow  to  disappear,  and  this  distrust  extended  into  the 
director-general's  departments;  it  was,  in  fact,  distributed, 
more  or  less,  throughout  the  entire  organization  under 
both  bodies,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  work. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  appointment  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  departments  of  Agriculture  and  of  Publicity  and 
Promotion.  The  appointments  of  other  chiefs  were  made 
in  the  following  order: 

February  13,  1891,  Capt.  Joseph  W.  Collins,  Chief  of  Department 
D. — Fish,  fisheries,  fish  products,  and  apparatus  of  fisheries. 

Same  date,  John  P.  Barrett,  Department  J. —  Electricity  and  elec- 
trical appliances. 

Same  date,  Prof  .Frederick  W.  Putnam,  Department  M. —  Ethnology. 


124  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

May  8,  1891,  Prof.  Halsey  C.  Ives,  Department  K. —  Fine  arts, 
pictorial,  plastic,  and  decorative. 

June  12, 1 89 1,. Frederick  J.  V.  Skiff,  Department  E. —  Mines,  mining, 
and  metallurgy. 

June  23,  1891,  J.  Walker  Fearn,  Department  P. —  Foreign  affairs. 

July  n,  1891,  James  Allison,  Department  H. —  Manufactures. 

Same  date,  Willard  A.  Smith,  Department  G. —  Transportation 
exhibits,  railways,  vessels,  and  vehicles. 

September  3,  1891,  Leonard  W.  Robinson,  Chief  Engineer,  U.  S.  N., 
Department  F. —  Machinery. 

Same  date,  Dr.  Selim  H.  Peabody,  Department  L. —  Liberal  arts, 
education,  engineering,  public  works,  music  and  the  drama. 

Same  date,  John  M.  Samuels,  Department  D. —  Horticulture. 

In  the  spring  of  1891  the  subject  of  most  importance 
was  that  of  awakening  among  foreign  nations  sufficient 
interest  in  the  Exposition.  Much  anxiety  was  felt  as  to 
the  reception  abroad  of  the  President's  proclamation  and 
invitation  which  had  been  issued  some  months  before. 
The  Committee  on  Foreign  Exhibits  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  had  already  done  effective  work  in  other  lands. 
During  the  previous  year  this  committee  had  been  pre- 
sided over  by  Mr.  Baker,  and  care  had  been  taken  that  no 
jurisdictional  controversy  should  prevent  the  inauguration 
of  such  work  as  was  deemed  essential  to  success.  The 
committee  had  frequent  conferences  with  the  correspond- 
ing committee  of  the  Commission,  of  which  Thomas  M. 
Waller  of  Connecticut  was  chairman,  meeting  both  in 
Chicago  and  in  New  York,  and  commissioners  had  been 
sent  to  Japan,  to  China,  and  to  Turkey,  Syria,  and  Egypt. 
A  Latin-American  bureau  was  organized,  with  William  E. 
Curtis  as  its  chief  officer,  the  object  being  to  awaken  an  inter- 
est among  the  republics  of  Central  and  South  America,  and 
in  Mexico.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  War  and  Navy 
departments,  officers  familiar  with  the  languages  and  cus- 
toms of  those  countries  were  selected  and  commissioned 
for  this  duty.  They  met  in  Chicago  in  the  fall  of  1890, 
became  familiar  with  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  Expo- 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  125 

sition  as  far  as  they  were  then  developed,  and  then,  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  made  their  way  to  the  various  countries 
to  which  they  had  been  commissioned.  The  results  accom- 
plished by  these  officers  were  excellent,  as  the  many 
interesting  exhibits  shown  from  those  southern  countries, 
and  the  elegant  government  buildings  erected  by  many 
of  them,  amply  testify. 

Little  had  been  accomplished  in  Europe.  Our  ambassa- 
dors and  ministers  were  but  poorly  supplied  with  informa- 
tion as  to  the  Exposition,  and,  in  fact,  knew  little  more  in 
regard  to  it  than  that  it  was  to  be  held.  The  Exposition 
had,  however,  one  friend  abroad  whose  services  all  acknowl- 
edge. I  refer  to  James  Dredge  of  London,  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  Engineering,  and  a  member  of  the  council  of 
the  Society  of  Arts.  He  visited  Chicago  in  October,  1890, 
showed  much  interest  in  the  preparations  then  in  progress, 
and,  in  conference  with  Mr.  Butterworth,  volunteered  his 
assistance.  His  correspondence  thereafter  contained  much 
useful  information  and  advice. 

It  was  desirable  to  prevent  any  impression  from  obtain- 
ing among  foreign  governments  that  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  was  to  be  one  of  those  oft-recurring  local  and 
commercial  exhibitions  which,  while  beneficial  and  praise- 
worthy, do  not  rise  to  the  dignity  of  an  universal  and 
international  exposition,  such  as  was  planned  by  the  man- 
agement at  Chicago,  and  was  contemplated  by  the  Act  of 
Congress.  Something  was  needed  to  vitalize  the  effect  of 
the  proclamation  and  invitation  already  issued.  Mr.  Dredge 
advised  that  leading  officers  of  the  Exposition,  bearing  com- 
missions from  the  Department  of  State,  should  personally 
visit  the  principal  courts  and  communities  of  Europe.  Such 
officers,  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Exposition  plans, 
capable  of  presenting  the  subject  effectively,  and  accredited 
by  commissions  from  the  Government,  would  arouse  the 


126  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

intelligent  appreciation  of  European  governments  and 
induce  them  to  participate  in  the  Exposition  on  a  scale  com- 
mensurate with  its  real  merits.  After  careful  consideration 
by  the  officers  of  the  two  governing  bodies,  a  commission  to 
visit  Europe  was  appointed,  consisting  of  the  following: 
The  Hon.  William  Lindsay,  a  member  of  the  Commission 
from  Kentucky,  and  afterward  United  States  Senator  from 
that  State;  A.  G.  Bullock,  member  of  the  Commission  from 
Massachusetts ;  Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Finance  of  the  Board  of  Directors ;  Moses  P. 
Handy,  chief  of  the  Department  of  Publicity  and  Promotion; 
and  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Butterworth,  secretary  and  solicitor- 
general  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  who  was 
unanimously  chosen  by  his  colleagues  president  of  the 
commission.  The  commissioners  sailed  early  in  July,  1891. 
On  arriving  in  London  they  were  warmly  aided  by  Mr. 
Dredge,  and  through  his  efforts  and  those  of  other  leading 
members  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  particularly  Sir  Richard 
Webster  and  Sir  Richard  Cunliffe-Owen,  the  council  of  that 
society  became  thoroughly  interested.  The  commissioners 
had  an  interview  with  the  premier,  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury, 
and  soon  afterward  the  council  of  the  Society  of  Arts  was 
constituted  the  Royal  British  Commission  to  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition.  Thus  the  cooperation  of  Great 
Britain  on  an  adequate  scale  was  thoroughly  assured. 

The  commissioners  then  visited  France,  Germany,  Aus- 
tria, Hungary,  Russia,  Holland,  Belgium,  Denmark,  and 
Sweden,  going  to  the  capitals  and  the  principal  cities  of 
each,  and  as  far  east  as  Nijni  Novgorod.  They  returned  in 
September  with  a  most  satisfactory  record  of  success. 
Personal  acquaintance  and  friendship  with  many  of  the 
American  ministers  at  courts  visited  enabled  Mr.  Butter- 
worth  to  awaken  their  interest  and  friendly  support,  while 
the  persistent  and  careful  work  of  all  the  members  of  the 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  127 

commission  enabled  them  to  see  in  every  country  visited 
steps  taken  which  resulted  in  its  adequate  representation  in 
the  great  enterprise. 

On  their  return  to  this  country  the  commissioners  were 
accompanied  by  James  Dredge  of  the  British  Royal  Com- 
mission, with  Sir  Henry  Trueman  Wood,  its  secretary;  Herr 
Adolph  Wermuth,  the  Imperial  German  commissioner- 
general,  and  Dr.  Emil  Meyer,  royal  commissioner  from 
Denmark.  Commissioners  from  other  countries  had  been 
appointed  and  were  expected  soon  to  follow. 

When  presenting  the  plans  of  the  Exposition  to  the 
representatives  of  the  several  governments,  and  particu- 
larly in  Great  Britain,  the  commissioners  met  frequent 
doubts  as  to  the  possibility  of  holding  a  great  international 
Exposition  at  a  point  a  thousand  miles  west  of  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  The  plan  and  scope  of  the  Exposition  and  the 
noble  scheme  of  grounds  and  buildings  were  looked  upon 
as  almost  Utopian;  something  which  might  be  possible  in 
one  of  the  older  countries  of  Europe,  but  out  of  the  question 
in  America.  To  these  doubts  the  commissioners  were  able 
to  respond  with  a  clear  idea  of  the  resources  at  hand  for 
carrying  into  effect  the  plans  which  had  been  devised,  until 
their  hearers  were  convinced  that  the  undertaking  would 
be  carried  into  effect  in  a  manner  entirely  worthy  of  our 
nation  and  of  the  event  it  was  intended  to  commemorate. 
Moreover,  the  act  of  our  Government  in  sending  commis- 
sioners personally  to  invite  and  to  urge  participation  in  the 
Exposition  was  appreciated  as  a  courtesy  which  in  itself  had 
weight. 

This  commission  did  not  visit  the  countries  of  Southern 
Europe,  the  season  being  unfavorable.  A  visit  to  Rome 
was  abandoned  because  the  officials  whom  the  commis- 
sioners would  wish  to  see  were  absent  from  the  city.  The 
success  of  this  commission,  and  the  desire  for  similar  pro- 


128  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

motion  in  the  countries  of  Southern  Europe,  led  to  the 
sending  abroad  of  a  second  commission,  consisting  of  Mr. 
Bryan,  vice-president,  and  the  writer,  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means.  Originally,  it  was  hoped 
that  Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bayard  of  Delaware  and  Hon. 
James  Hodges,  member  of  the  Commission  for  Maryland, 
would  also  be  members  of  this  commission.  For  personal 
reasons  each  of  these  gentlemen  felt  obliged  to  decline, 
as  did  also  Senator  Eustis  of  Louisiana.  Meanwhile  Mr. 
Bryan  and  myself  were  ordered  to  Paris,  to  await  the  arrival 
of  our  colleagues,  Mr.  Bryan  arriving  there  first.  Halsey 
C.  Ives,  chief  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts,  who  was  in 
Europe  in  the  interest  of  his  department,  was  instructed 
to  join  us  and  accompany  us  to  the  capitals  of  Southern 
Europe. 

I  should  mention  that,  before  going  to  Paris,  I  attended 
a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Arts  in  London,  pursuant  to 
an  invitation  telegraphed  to  me  by  Sir  Henry  Wood  on  my 
arrival  at  Queenstown ;  also  a  luncheon  with  the  Lord 
Mayor  at  the  Mansion  House,  and  a  banquet  of  the  Haber- 
dashers' Society.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 
Mr.  Dredge  delivered  an  address  on  the  subject  of  Chicago 
and  the  Exposition,  and  in  response  I  addressed  the  meeting 
on  the  same  subject. 

While  Mr.  Bryan  and  myself  were  waiting  in  Paris 
we  endeavored  to  disseminate  through  the  press  informa- 
tion relative  to  the  Exposition.  We  were  entertained  at 
breakfast  by  M.  Sigfried,  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  and  at  dinner  by  the  principal  commercial  organ- 
ization of  Paris.  On  both  of  these  occasions  Exposition 
matters  were  discussed,  and  also  the  changes  in  the 
American  tariff  laws  involved  in  the  recently  enacted 
McKinley  bill.  Serious  objections  to  it  were  presented, 
which  Mr.  Bryan  and  myself  endeavored  to  overcome  by 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  129 

statements  in  regard  to  its  operation.  In  December  we 
proceeded  to  Rome,  where,  for  some  time,  owing  to  the 
festivities  of  the  season,  we  were  unable  to  accomplish 
much.  As  soon  as  possible  we  secured  audiences  with  the 
premier,  the  ministers  of  Agriculture  and  of  Education,  the 
Syndic,  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  with  vari- 
ous societies.  We  endeavored  to  get  in  touch  with  persons 
and  firms  which  might  be  planning  to  make  exhibits. 
Immediately  after  the  holiday  season  was  over  we  were 
accorded  an  audience  by  his  majesty,  King  Humbert,  who 
expressed  great  interest  in  the  Exposition,  in  Chicago,  and 
in  America  generally.  He  promised  to  aid  the  Exposition 
and  to  encourage  his  people  to  make  a  proper  representa- 
tion. Miss  Bryan,  who  accompanied  her  father,  was  granted 
an  audience  by  Queen  Margherita,  and  as  a  result  of  nego- 
tiations then  begun  the  queen  was  pleased  to  send  to  the 
Exposition  her  remarkable  collection  of  old  laces. 

While  in  Rome  we  engaged  the  services  of  Chevalier 
Guglielmo  Grant  and  Angelo  del  Nero  for  a  period  of  six 
months,  the  former  to  develop  an  interest  in  an  industrial 
exhibit,  and  the  latter  to  gather  an  art  exhibit  from  Italy. 
The  services  of  these  gentlemen  were  continued  for  some 
months  longer  and  resulted  in  collecting  an  exhibit  in 
every  way  superior  to  what  might  otherwise  have  been 
secured. 

We  next  visited  Naples,  where  we  had  interviews  with 
city  officials,  societies,  and  individuals.  We  then  went  to 
Palermo,  where  was  in  progress  a  national  exposition 
which  the  king  had  formally  opened  a  few  days  before 
our  arrival  in  Rome.  While  pursuing  the  policy  of  the 
previous  commission  to  Europe  in  establishing  cordial  rela- 
tions with  officials,  we  endeavored,  also,  to  extend  our  work 
among  business  houses,  so  that,  even  if  a  government 
should  fail  to  respond,  exhibits  might  be  obtained  from 


130  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

persons  awake  to  the  opportunities  of  introducing  their 
wares  into  the  New  World. 

In  Venice  we  closed  a  contract  with  the  Venice  Murano 
Company  for  a  concession  to  exhibit  the  manufacture  of 
Venetian  glass.  We  visited  shops  of  wood  carvers,  mosaic 
makers,  and  the  builders  of  gondolas,  the  latter  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  gondolas  for  the  lagoons  of  the 
Exposition.  Mr.  Ives  visited  Genoa  and  rejoined  me  in 
Paris,  while  Mr.  Bryan  proceeded  to  Greece,  Bulgaria,  and 
Spain.  He  subsequently  had  an  audience  with  the  Pope, 
from  whom  he  received  a  letter  highly  commending  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Exposition.  This  letter,  added  to  the  many 
other  expressions  of  cordial  good  feeling  and  encouragement 
which  we  received,  greatly  benefited  the  Exposition  in 
Europe  and  throughout  the  world. 

The  writer  returned  to  Chicago  in  the  latter  part  of 
February,  1892,  after  a  fairly  successful  journey.  Mr.  Bryan 
continued  the  work  in  Europe  for  some  months  longer. 

Previous  to  the  departure  of  the  first  commission  to 
Europe,  such  legal  services  as  had  been  needed  were  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Butterworth  and  by  the  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Legislation,  Hon.  Edwin  Walker,  who  sub- 
sequently became  the  solicitor-general  of  the  Exposition. 
During  the  summer  additional  legal  service  became  neces- 
sary, in  connection  with  contracts  for  concessions,  the  work 
of  the  Construction  Department,  and  items  connected  with 
other  branches  of  the  organization.  William  K.  Carlisle 
was  appointed  attorney;  later  Charles  H.  Baldwin  was 
appointed  assistant  attorney  and  was  detailed  for  duty  in  the 
Construction  Department;  Joseph  Cummins  was  appointed 
assistant  attorney  for.  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 
These  appointments  indicate  the  rapid  increase  of  legal 
work  consequent  upon  the  development  of  Exposition 
plans. 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  131 

At  each  stage  of  the  enterprise  some  pressing  difficulty 
seemed  to  threaten  the  Exposition  with  disaster.  The 
shortness  of  time  was  always  an  ominous  factor.  The  year 
1890  had  its  controversy  as  to  jurisdiction  and  its  question 
of  site.  The  year  1891  had  the  question  of  finance 
and  the  question  of  adequate  transportation  to  Jackson 
Park.  These  were,  apparently,  overcome  in  1892,  but 
the  financial  difficulties  returned  in  1893,  because  of  the 
vast  increase  in  expenditures,  the  Act  of  Congress  which 
diverted  part  of  the  appropriation  made  for  building  the 
Exposition,  and  the  approach  of  the  financial  revulsion  of 
that  year.  Again  in  1892  the  character  of  the  organization, 
believed  to  be  inadequate  for  dealing  with  approaching 
conditions,  rekindled  the  smoking  embers  of  the  question 
of  jurisdiction.  This  was  scarcely  settled,  placing  the 
administration  of  the  Exposition  again  upon  a  new  and 
experimental  basis,  when  the  approach  of  the  dedication 
in  October,  1892,  bringing  with  it  vast  crowds  of  spectators, 
for  whose  reception  and  transmission  the  available  facilities 
seemed  wholly  inadequate,  threatened  disaster  and  even  loss 
of  life.  In  the  winter  of  1892-1893  came  danger  of  the 
non-arrival  of  exhibits,  from  an  incomplete  power  plant, 
and  from  defects  of  construction.  The  succeeding  spring 
revealed  acres  of  leaky  roofs,  which  threatened  enormous 
damage  to  the  values  stored  beneath  them,  and  the  early 
part  of  the  Exposition  season,  until  August,  1893,  saw  your 
company  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy. 

The  transportation  question  was  like  the  stone  of  Sisy- 
phus. Before  it  was  finally  settled  many  gentlemen  essayed 
the  task  of  rolling  this  stone  up  the  hill,  only  to  see  it 
roll  down  again.  In  the  summer  of  1891  the  transport  of 
visitors  to  Jackson  Park  became  the  most  important  prob- 
lem awaiting  adjustment.  This  problem  might  be  formu- 
lated as  follows :  How  to  move  300,000  people  from  their 


132  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

lodgings  and  residences  in  the  city  to  Jackson  Park  within 
a  reasonable  time  in  the  morning,  and  return  them  to 
their  homes  at  night.  It  was  conceived  that  facilities  for 
transporting  150,000  people  an  hour  for  three  hours  in  the 
morning,  and  for  the  same  time  in  the  evening,  would 
answer  this  problem,  and  leave  the  margin  necessary  for 
emergencies. 

As  our  chief  reliance  was  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
the  first  part  of  the  task  was  to  see  that  this  road  was 
brought  to  its  maximum  of  efficiency.  A  point  just  west 
of  the  Administration  Building  was  selected  for  the  site 
of  the  Terminal  Station.  Architectural  and  landscape 
requirements  had  determined  this  selection,  as  the  rail- 
road company  preferred  a  place  near  its  crossing  of  the 
Midway  Plaisance.  The  plan  contemplated  a  station  built 
upon  a  large  loop,  around  which  trains  would  run,  dis- 
charge and  receive  passengers,  and  continue  out  of  the 
grounds  for  the  return  journey.  The  plan  of  a  loop 
was  abandoned,  and  a  system  of  stub  tracks  was  substi- 
tuted. 

It  soon  became  clear  that  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
could  not  reach  its  greatest  efficiency  while  crossing  at 
grade  the  city  streets  in  the  neighborhood  of  Jackson 
Park.  Such  grade  crossings  would  surely  be  crowded  at 
all  times  of  the  day  and  night.  It  was  evident  that  the 
grades  of  the  railroad  and  of  the  streets  should  be  sepa- 
rated, and  after  full  consideration  it  appeared  that  this 
could  be  best  effected  by  a  moderate  depression  of  the 
streets  and  a  larger  elevation  of  the  tracks.  With  this 
question,  however,  arose  similar  questions  regarding  the 
South  Side  Elevated  Railroad  line,  the  Chicago  City  Rail- 
way Company's  cable  line  from  the  city,  and  its  cross-town 
horse-car  lines.  Several  meetings  were  held  in  the  summer 
and  early  fall  of  1891,  by  the  general  officers  of  the  Illinois 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  133 

Central  Railroad  Company,  the  Chicago  and  South  Side 
Rapid  Transit  Company,  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Com- 
pany, the  city  commissioner  of  public  works,  the  city  engi- 
neer, the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  and  that 
on  Transportation,  and  the  chief  of  construction  of  the 
Exposition.  These  meetings  were  presided  over  by  the 
president  of  the  Exposition,  Mr.  Baker. 

The  city  engineer,  the  engineer  of  construction  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  the  engineer  of  the 
Chicago  City  Railway  Company  (South  Side  cable  line), 
and  the  chief  of  construction  of  the  Exposition  were  con- 
stituted a  subcommittee  to  consider  physical  difficulties. 
A  report  from  this  committee,  submitted  October  31,  1891, 
and  printed,  estimated  the  capacity  of  the  various  methods 
of  transportation  then  existing  as  follows: 

Walking  and  carriages,  per  hour i 15,000 

Chicago  City  Railway  Company's  lines 12,000 

Illinois  Central  Railroad 6,000 

Water  craft ....    5,000 

Other  railroads 1,000 

Total,  per  hour 39,000 

Certain  changes  in  the  conditions  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  were  suggested,  which  would  somewhat  increase 
the  small  amount  estimated  for  it ;  but  nothing  short  of 
the  elevation  of  the  tracks  from  Forty-seventh  Street  to 
Sixty-seventh  Street,  and  the  purchase  of  a  large  amount 
of  equipment,  was  deemed  sufficient  to  place  in  a  satisfac- 
tory condition  this  line,  which,  as  it  could  give  the  most 
direct  and  rapid  means  of  access,  was  expected  to  receive 
the  largest  share  of  patronage.  A  plan  was  recommended 
which  provided  for  the  elevation  of  the  tracks  as  above 
outlined,  the  operation  of  two  tracks  upon  the  west  side 
of  the  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  for  local  business,  and 
two  tracks  on  the  east  side  of  the  right  of  way  for  through 
trains,  running  without  stops  between  Van  Buren  Street 


134  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

and  Jackson  Park.  This  plan  proposed  a  viaduct  over  the 
railroad  tracks  at  Van  Buren  Street,  a  loop  at  this  point 
running  on  piles  out  into  the  lake,  a  loop  at  Jackson  Park, 
and  an  interlocking  block-signal  system  along  the  right  of 
way  between  these  two  points.  It  also  proposed  the  carry- 
ing of  the  tracks  of  the  elevated  railway  over  the  elevated 
tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  at  Sixty-third  Street, 
and  the  construction  of  a  terminal  station  for  the  Alley 
Elevated  Railroad  upon  the  roof  of  the  annex  to  the 
building  for  transportation  exhibits  within  Jackson  Park. 
It  also  proposed  the  equipment  of  the  cross-town  lines  of 
the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company,  with  cars  moved  by 
the  overhead  electric  system,  the  cars  to  run  beneath  the 
tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and  to  the  Exposi- 
tion gates,  and  to  connect  with  the  State  Street  cable  and 
the  Englewood  district.  In  addition  to  this  the  Chicago 
City  Railway  Company  already  had  the  terminal  loop  of 
its  Cottage  Grove  Avenue  line  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
northern  entrances  on  the  west  side  of  Jackson  Park.  With 
these  improvements  the  following  was  the  estimated  hourly 
capacity  of  the  various  transportation  methods : 

Foot  passengers  and  vehicles... 25,000 

Chicago  City  Railway,  Cottage  Grove  cable  line 20,000 

Chicago  City  Railway,  State  Street  cable  line 20,000 

Illinois  Central  Railroad,  on  existing  tracks  (local) ..  21,600 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  on  proposed  tracks  (express)  14,400 
Water  transportation,  Lake  Front  to  Jackson  Park..  10,000 

Water  transportation,  from  north  side  of  city 5,000 

Alley  Elevated  Railway 20,000 

Total,  per  hour 136,000 

The  above  proved  to  be  a  very  moderate  estimate  of 
the  capacity  of  the  different  lines.  The  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  abandoned  the  idea  of  a  loop  at  Van  Buren  Street, 
and  used  stub  tracks,  which  were  so  skillfully  handled,  with 
cars  especially  adapted  to  the  service,  as  to  prove  entirely 
satisfactory,  even  during  the  days  of  phenomenal  patronage. 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  135 

The  estimate  given  above  was  not  for  150,000  per  hour, 
but  was  deemed  to  be  satisfactory. 

Upon  the  submission  of  this  report  President  Baker 
was  directed  to  proceed  with  negotiations  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  question  of  transportation.  The  great  diffi- 
culties of  the  task  were  fully  recognized,  and  every  one, 
either  within  or  without  the  Exposition  organization,  seemed 
glad  to  be  relieved  of  responsibility  in  regard  to  it.  Mr. 
Baker  devoted  to  it  much  time  and  labor.  Although  he 
was  not  so  restricted,  the  idea  was  that  the  question  should 
be  settled  along  the  lines  of  the  report  just  referred  to. 
He  was  authorized  to  procure  any  assistance  and  to  incur 
any  expenditure,  and  as  a  first  step,  after  consulting  with 
prominent  railroad  officers,  he  appointed  William  H.  Hoi- 
comb  his  assistant,  with  salary  at  the  rate  of  $1,000  a 
month. 

Meanwhile  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Grounds 
and  Buildings  (Mr.  Jeffery)  had  opened  negotiations  with 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company  with  a  view  to 
connecting  its  tracks  in  South  Chicago  with  the  Exposi- 
tion grounds,  and  thus  relieving  to  some  extent  the  undis- 
turbed control  which  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  seemed 
to  enjoy.  Soon  after  this  Mr.  Jeffery  resigned  from  the 
Board  of  Directors  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  Denver 
&  Rio  Grande  Railroad  Company,  leaving  the  half -formed 
plans  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  connection  to  be  carried 
out  by  President  Baker.  These  negotiations  and  those  for 
the  elevation  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  tracks  were 
conducted  at  the  same  time. 

A  plan  was  evolved  for  the  elevation  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  tracks  for  a  distance  of  about  one  and  a 
half  miles,  the  elevation  reaching  a  maximum  of  nineteen 
feet  at  Fifty-third  Street,  and  maintaining  this  to  Sixty- 
seventh  Street;  the  road  was  to  have  ample  station  facilities 


136  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

at  Fifty-seventh  Street  (South  Park),  Sixtieth  Street  (Mid- 
way Plaisance),  and  Sixty-third  Street  (Woodlawn);  the 
first  to  deliver  passengers  bound  for  the  northern  section 
in  the  direction  of  the  Fine  Arts  Building,  the  second 
those  desiring  to  enter  the  Midway,  and  the  third  those 
desiring  to  go  toward  the  Court  of  Honor  and  the  sur- 
rounding buildings.  Finally  it  was  arranged  that  express 
trains  should  stop  only  at  Sixtieth  Street  (the  Midway), 
giving  the  trains  a  short  stop  and  allowing  them  quickly  to 
return  to  the  city. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  urged  that  it 
could  not  undertake  to  defray  the  whole  cost  of  elevat- 
ing its  tracks  and  providing  the  large  amount  of  rolling 
stock  required  for  the  service  between  Jackson  Park  and 
the  city,  because  it  could  not  recoup  itself  for  the  outlay 
from  receipts  paid  by  the  patrons  of  the  Exposition.  As 
the  elevation  of  the  tracks  was  justly  deemed  of  vital 
importance  to  the  Exposition,  on  June  18,  1892,  a  contract 
was  concluded  by  which  the  railroad  company  agreed  to 
elevate  its  tracks  upon  condition  that  the  Exposition  pay 
to  it  $250,000  and  give  it  100,000  tickets  of  admission.  The 
Chicago  City  Railway  Company  also  contributed  $100,000 
toward  the  cost  of  this  elevation  in  consideration  of  the 
additional  advantages  and  facilities  which  it  acquired  there- 
by. It  was  a  burdensome  contract,  because  it  compelled  the 
Exposition  to  pay  a  large  amount  toward  a  permanent  and 
valuable  improvement  upon  the  railroad  company's  roadbed, 
but  the  end  accomplished  justified  the  outlay  by  your  com- 
pany. It  was  a  source  of  satisfaction,  moreover,  to  the 
management  of  the  Exposition  to  be  the  means  of  conferring 
upon  the  portion  of  the  city  in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson  Park 
the  lasting  benefits  accruing  from  the  elevation  of  the  tracks 
of  this  railroad  company.  The  contract  required  that  the 
elevation  be  finished  before  the  opening  of  the  Exposition 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  137 

in  May,  1893,  less  than  one  year  being  allowed  in  which  to 
perform  the  task,  and  the  contract  was  fully  performed. 

Meanwhile  your  company  had  obtained  for  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Railroad  Company  a  right  of  way  south  of 
Jackson  Park,  by  leases  from  property  owners  running  until 
August  i,  1894,  for  which  the  railroad  company  contrib- 
uted $39,000.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  also 
desired  ingress  at  this  same  point  for  bringing  in  con- 
struction material  and  excursion  trains,  and,  if  it  should 
find  it  desirable,  for  bringing  its  express  trains  around 
from  its  main  line  into  the  Terminal  Station  in  Jackson 
Park.  The  cost  of  these  two  rights  of  way  was  $51,592, 
to  which  should  be  added  some  part  of  the  rental  of 
the  twenty-acre  tract  south  of  the  park,  used  for  bonded 
warehouses,  storehouses  for  empty  packing-cases,  switch- 
ing, etc.,  through  which  also  ran  the  rights  of  way  referred 
to.  The  Exposition  paid  for  this  twenty-acre  tract  a  rental 
of  $65,000.  It  was  originally  supposed  that  these  items  of 
expense,  exclusive  of  the  rental  of  the  twenty-acre  tract, 
would  be  recouped  from  the  amount  paid  by  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  and  the  terminal  charges  on 
express  business  from  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany and  other  roads  using  its  tracks.  This  expectation 
was  not  realized,  but  the  net  loss  was  not  serious  in  com- 
parison with  the  benefits  derived  from  the  entrance  of  the 
roads  at  this  point. 

When  the  negotiations  for  the  elevation  of  the  Illinois 
Central  tracks  were  concluded,  W.  H.  Holcomb  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  Executive  Department  to  the  Department 
of  Works,  with  the  title  of  master  of  transportation,  in 
which  capacity  he  continued  his  work  upon  the  plans  for 
transporting  visitors  to  and  from  Jackson  Park,  and  in  addi- 
tion had  charge  of  the  reception  of  materials  and  exhibits 
and  of  their  distribution  to  the  proper  points. 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 


138  .     REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

E.  E.  Jaycox  had  been  previously  appointed  traffic  man- 
ager, and  had  served  in  this  capacity  from  October  9,  1890, 
representing  the  Committee  on  Transportation  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  and  carrying  forward  much  of  the  preliminary 
work  affecting  the  transportation  of  exhibits  from  distant 
points  to  the  Exposition  grounds.  In  October,  1892,  the 
traffic  manager  was  placed  under  the  master  of  transpor- 
tation and  attached  to  this  branch  of  the  Department  of 
Works.  On  January  i,  1893,  Mr.  Jaycox  resigned,  from 
which  time  the  duties  of  his  office  were  merged  in  those 
of  Mr.  Holcomb,  who  was  thereafter  designated  general 
master  of  transportation. 

When  the  rights  of  way  south  of  the  park  had  been 
obtained,  and  the  contract  for  the  elevation  of  the  Illinois 
Central  tracks  had  been  executed,  there  remained  the  ques- 
tion of  the  proper  arrangement  of  terminal  facilities  within 
the  park.  The  terminal  yard  had  been  constructed  with  a 
view  to  the  handling  of  a  large  number  of  trains  convey- 
ing great  crowds  of  people  into  the  Exposition  grounds 
over  the  rights  of  way  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  companies,  entering  the  park  from 
the  south.  This  yard  was  constructed  with  such  extensive 
appliances  as  to  be  admirably  adapted  to  the  reception  of 
a  vast  amount  of  freight.  In  this  respect  it  contributed 
much  to  the  convenience  of  installation,  permitting  the 
expeditious  handling  of  hundreds  of  car-loads  of  material 
every  day. 

The  yard  was  provided  with  thirty-five  standing  tracks, 
capable  of  holding  428  passenger  cars  of  ordinary  size  in 
trains  of  thirteen  cars  each,  these  cars  being  capable  of 
seating,  at  sixty  persons  to  each  car,  25,680  people.  Besides 
these  tracks  there  were  twenty  tracks  in  the  storage  yard 
just  south  of  the  standing  tracks,  capable  of  holding  260  cars, 
seating  15,600  people,  making  the  total  seating  capacity  of 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  139 

cars  which  could  be  accommodated  in  the  terminal  yard 
41,280  people.  Thus  the  capacity  of  the  yards  was  proba- 
bly in  excess  of  the  capacity  of  the  connecting  railroads 
to  handle  trains  that  could  be  delivered  to  them  from 
this  yard.  In  all  there  were  17^  miles  of  track  in  the 
terminal  yard.  (See  report  of  general  manager  of  trans- 
portation, attached  to  the  report  of  the  director  of  works.) 

As  a  provision  for  the  reception  of  visitors  this  yard  was 
a  failure,  for  it  was  accepted  neither  by  the  railroads  nor  by 
the  traveling  public.  It  was  planned  upon  the  theory  that 
the  railroads  whose  tracks  ran  in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson 
Park  would  each  bring  a  large  patronage  to  the  Exposition, 
both  of  people  from  the  city  and  of  excursionists  from 
remoter  points.  There  was  a  vision  of  great  bustle  and 
business,  of  crowded  trains  coming  and  departing,  when  the 
railroads  would  vie  with  each  other  in  the  use  of  these 
unprecedented  terminal  facilities,  planned  to  be  one  of  the 
marvels  of  the  Exposition.  It  was  expected  that  they  would 
become  immensely  popular  and  attractive,  and  that  their 
entire  cost  might  be  recouped  by  collecting  from  the  rail- 
roads for  all  passengers  brought  into  the  yard  a  small  termi- 
nal charge.  This  charge  was  fixed  at  5  cents  per  capita  for 
persons  brought  from  the  city,  and  10  cents  per  capita  for 
those  from  without  the  city  limits,  and  was  actually  collected 
up  to  July  i,  1893,  but  not  thereafter. 

But  the  railroads  did  not  respond.  They  seemed  unable 
to  discover  a  profitable  patronage  in  the  methods  indicated, 
and  they  evaded  all  efforts  to  commit  them  to  any  share  of 
the  expense  of  these  costly  preparations.  In  the  summer  of 
1892,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  gave  notice  that 
it  would  not  run  its  trains  into  the  Terminal  Station,  but 
would  transact  its  business  entirely  upon  its  own  right  of 
way,  discharging  Exposition  passengers  at  Midway,  Wood- 
lawn,  and  other  points  adjacent  to  the  park.  After  the 


140  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Exposition  was  opened  it  became  apparent  that  the  Termi- 
nal Station  could  not  be  used  to  advantage  by  any  railroad 
but  the  Illinois  Central,  but  that  its  express  trains  could  be 
brought  thither  from  the  main  line  in  a  few  minutes,  and 
this  was  done  soon  after  July  ist.  This  was  a  convenience, 
especially  to  weary  visitors  who  wished  to  return  to  the  city 
and  could  find  a  train  without  the  additional  walk  of  half  or 
three-quarters  of  a  mile.  Even  then  most  of  the  passengers 
had  left  the  trains  before  reaching  Sixty- third  Street,  few 
remaining  in  their  seats  until  the  train  had  been  brought 
around  to  the  Terminal  Station. 

The  station  was  a  beautiful  and  costly  building,  a  model 
in  its  way,  and  the  yards  and  terminal  tracks  leading  to  it 
were  perfect  and  sufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  an 
enormous  patronage,  but  it  never  received  business  enough 
to  give  it  an  appearance  of  activity.  Even  after  the  Illinois 
Central  trains  were  brought  into  the  grounds  one  end  of  the 
perron  was  sufficient  for  their  needs.  The  rest  of  the 
perron,  with  sheds  and  tracks,  was  vacant,  except  for  a  few 
out-of-town  excursion  trains  and  a  few  suburban  trains  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  The  plans  for  this  Ter- 
minal Station  and  the  switching  yards  were  perfected 
and  the  work  was,  to  a  certain  extent,  contracted  for 
before  the  question  of  transportation  between  the  city 
and  the  park  had  been  thoroughly  digested,  and  to  this  fact 
as  much  as  to  any  other  must  be  attributed  the  lamentable 
failure  and  waste  connected  therewith. 

The  first  commission  to  Europe  returned  in  September, 
1891,  bringing  with  it  the  earliest  of  the  foreign  commis- 
sioners The  Construction  Department  and  the  various 
departments  under  the  director-general  were  now  thoroughly 
organized.  All  agencies  were  most  actively  employed.  The 
work  of  the  committees  on  Ways  and  Means  and  on  Grounds 
and  Buildings  required  incessant  attention.  On  the  writer's 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  141 

return  from  Southern  Europe  he  found  that  the  chairman- 
ship of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  occupied  his 
time  by  day  and  evening,  in  work  upon  the  details  of 
important  concessions.  As  the  spring  of  1892  approached, 
it  became  evident  that  important  changes  would  be  required 
in  the  offices  of  the  company.  Mr.  Bryan,  vice-president, 
was  still  in  Europe.  Mr.  Baker,  the  president,  was  absorbed 
in  the  vexatious  and  interminable  transportation  problem 
and  in  the  prosecution  of  the  appeal  to  Congress  for  financial 
assistance,  in  the  course  of  which  he  and  several  of  the 
directors  made  visits  to  Washington  during  the  spring  and 
early  summer  of  1892.  Mr.  Butterworth  announced  that  he 
would  not  serve  another  term  as  your  secretary.  This 
officer  had  found  his  usefulness  impaired  by  frequent 
criticisms  and  misunderstandings  which  made  it  impos- 
sible for  him  to  use  his  powers  to  the  best  advantage  in 
the  service  of  the  Exposition.  His  brilliant  talents  had  been 
of  inestimable  value  to  the  cause,  as  shown  in  his  speeches 
in  Congress,  in  addresses  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
and  in  his  labors  with  the  commission  to  Europe.  When 
his  determination  was  known  it  was  decided  that  he  should 
be  chosen  a  director  at  the  next  stockholders'  meeting. 

The  method  of  holding  the  annual  meeting  of  stock- 
holders had  been  further  improved  since  the  preceding  year, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1892  the  holders  of  proxies  were 
required  to  register  their  proxies  in  the  secretary's  office  ten 
days  before  the  annual  meeting,  which  occurred  on  April  10, 
1892.  The  Board  of  Directors  chosen  at  this  meeting  was 
substantially  the  same  as  before.  Mr.  Jeffery  had  resigned 
during  the  previous  year  and  his  place  in  the  Board  of 
Directors  and  in  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings 
had  been  taken  by  Henry  B.  Stone.  In  addition  to  Mr.  Stone 
the  new  directors  were :  Benjamin  Butterworth,  Charles 
H.  Chappell,  Arthur  Dixon,  George  P.  Englehard,  Charles 


142  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Henrotin,  Herman  H.  Kohlsaat,  Washington  Porter,  Paul  O. 
Stensland,  and  George  H.  Wheeler.  They  took  the  places  of 
Messrs.  Harris,  Jamieson,  Kirkman,  Phelps,  Palmer,  Ryer- 
son,  Saul,  Sunny,  and  Washburne.  Mr.  Kohlsaat  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  Board,  but  resigned  and  went  abroad.  While 
in  Europe  he  rendered  important  services  to  the  Exposition. 
On  his  return  to  the  city  he  was  again  elected  a  director. 
Mr.  Baker  was  elected  by  the  new  Board  of  Directors  to 
succeed  himself.  Because  of  business  necessities  which 
demanded  an  extension  of  the  executive  power  and  close 
attention  to  the  now  rapidly  multiplying  details  of  the  work, 
the  writer  was  elected  vice-president,  to  succeed  Mr.  Bryan, 
who  was  still  in  Europe,  and  the  latter  was  appointed  com- 
missioner-at-large  and  attached  to  the  staff  of  the  director- 
general.  Howard  O.  Edmonds  was  elected  secretary  to 
succeed  Mr.  Butterworth.  Mr.  Palmer  had  resigned  the 
second  vice-presidency  and  efforts  were  made  to  induce 
Mr.  Gage  to  accept  the  position.  Mr.  Gage  could  not,  how- 
ever, do  this  under  any  circumstances,  having  already  made 
important  sacrifices  to  the  Exposition.  He  had  served  since 
Mr.  Jeffery's  resignation  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  had  given  to  that  important 
work  all  the  time  which  could  be  spared  from  his  private 
affairs.  Robert  A.  Waller  was  elected  to  the  second  vice- 
presidency.  Mr.  Waller  had  relinquished  the  chairmanship  of 
the  Committee  on  the  Liberal  Arts  in  favor  of  James  W.  Ells- 
worth, and  in  so  doing  lost  his  seat  in  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee. As  second  vice-president  he  had  a  seat  in  the  Executive 
Committee,  and  thus  his  services  were  regained  to  it. 

The  following  were  the  committees  of  the  Board  for  the 
year  1892: 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINANCE. 
Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  Chairman. 

Lyman  J.  Gage.  Harlow  N.  Higinbotham. 

Elbridge  G.  Keith.  John  J.  P.  Odell. 


THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ETC.  143 

COMMITTEE  ON  GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS. 

Henry  B.  Stone,  Chairman. 

Robert  C.  dowry.  William  P.  Ketcham. 

Edward  F.  Lawrence.  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

Lyman  J.  Gage.  Eugene  S.  Pike. 

COMMITTEE  ON  LEGISLATION. 
Edwin  Walker,  Chairman. 

Ferdinand  W.  Peck.  Benjamin  Butterworth. 

Frederick  S.  Winston.  Arthur  Dixon. 

COMMITTEE  ON  AGRICULTURE. 
William  D.  Kerfoot,  Chairman. 
Isaac  N.  Camp.  George  Schneider. 

Thies  J.  Lefens.  Washington  Porter. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  EXHIBITS. 

Thies  J.  Lefens,  Chairman. 

Charles  H.  Wacker.  Harlow  N.  Higinbotham. 

James  W.  Ellsworth.  Charles  Henrotin. 

COMMITTEE  ON  TRANSPORTATION. 
Edward  P.  Ripley,  Chairman. 

John  C.  Welling.  Charles  H.  Wheeler. 

Henry  B.  Stone.  Charles  H.  Chappell. 

COMMITTEE  ON  FINE  ARTS. 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  Chairman. 
Elbridge  G.  Keith.  Charles  T.  Yerkes. 

James  W.  Ellsworth.  Eugene  S.  Pike. 

COMMITTEE  ON  WAYS  AND  MEANS. 
Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  Chairman. 
Adolph  Nathan.  Edward  F.  Lawrence. 

Charles  H.  Wacker.  William  J.  Chalmers. 

Robert  A.  Waller.  William  D.  Kerfoot. 

George  Schneider.  Edward  P.  Ripley. 

Milton  W.  Kirk.  Andrew  McNally. 

Edward  B.  Butler.  Washington  Porter. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MINES,  MINING,  FORESTRY,  AND  FISH. 

Charles  H.  Schwab,  Chairman. 
John  C.  Welling.  Robert  Nelson. 

William  J.  Chalmers.  Arthur  Dixon. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PRESS  AND  PRINTING. 

Alexander  H.  Revell,  Chairman. 
Milton  W.  Kirk.  Edward  B.  Butler. 

Benjamin  Butterworth.  George  Schneider. 


144 


REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 


COMMITTEE  ON  THE  LIBERAL  ARTS. 
James  W.  Ellsworth,  Chairman. 

Isaac  N.  Camp.  Alexander  H.  Re  veil. 

Robert  A.  Waller.  George  P.  Englehard. 

COMMITTEE  ON  ELECTRICITY,   ELECTRICAL   AND  PNEUMATIC  APPLIANCES. 

Robert  C.  dowry,  Chairman. 
Robert  Nelson.  C.  K.  G.  Billings. 

Charles  H.  Wacker.  Charles  L.  Hutchinson. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MANUFACTURES  AND  MACHINERY. 

John  J.  P.  Odell,  Chairman. 

Adolph  Nathan.  A.  M.  Rothschild. 

Andrew  McNally.  Paul  O.  Stensland. 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  ON  CEREMONIES. 
Edward  F.  Lawrence,  Chairman. 
Charles  T.  Yerkes.  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

Charles  H.  Wacker.  William  D.  Kerfoot. 

Charles  Henrotin.  Alexander  H.  Revell. 

James  W.  Ellsworth. 

By  the  changes  in  the  Executive  Department  just 
referred  to,  and  by  reason  of  the  increasing  importance  of 
the  work  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  the  writer 
was  drawn  into  contact  with  the  work  of  the  Committee 
on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  was  thus  able  to  render 
some  assistance  in  the  last  stages  of  the  transportation 
problem.  The  latter  was  now  about  to  be  laid  at  rest,  as 
far  as  the  Exposition  was  concerned,  although  with  some 
misgivings  as  to  the  ability  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  to  complete  its  work  in  the  time  allowed.  This 
task,  which  the  Board  had  committed  to  President  Baker, 
he  saw  completed,  but  his  term  of  service  as  president 
was  about  to  close.  In  July,  1892,  Mr.  Baker's  health  failed, 
and  owing  to  this  and  the  illness  of  a  member  of  his  family 
he  went  to  Europe  for  a  rest.  The  writer  thus  became 
the  acting  president  of  the  company.  Mr.  Baker  did  not 
return  to  his  post,  but  soon  tendered  his  resignation. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    COUNCIL   OF    ADMINISTRATION. 

FOR  many  months  prior  to  August,  1892,  the  opinion 
had  prevailed  among  those  members  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  who  were  most  constantly  engaged 
upon  the  work  and  were  most  familiar  with  its 
necessities,  that  substantial  changes  in  the  organization 
were  necessary  in  order  that  the  brilliant  record  of  prog- 
ress made  up  to  that  time  might  be  continued.  The 
few  members  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  who 
were  sufficiently  in  touch  with  the  enterprise  to  appre- 
ciate what  was  necessary  to  its  success,  concurred  in  this 
opinion.  In  the  abstract  the  organization  was  open  to 
great  criticism.  In  fact  it  seems  difficult  to  justify  its 
existence,  except  as  the  result  of  compromises  to  the  con- 
ditions fixed  by  the  Act  of  Congress.  The  opinion  as  to 
the  necessity  of  changes  became  more  prevalent.  It  was 
believed  that  both  bodies  must  agree  upon  some  basis  for 
an  unification  of  authority  over  all  matters  relating  to  the 
construction,  the  installation,  and  the  administration  of  the 
Exposition.  A  dual  organization  and  independent  com- 
mittees charged  with  the  administration  of  parts  of  the 
stupendous  whole  had  proceeded  as  far  as  could  be  per- 
mitted with  safety,  even  if  it  can  be  admitted  that  it  was 
safe  to  have  allowed  them  to  proceed  at  all. 

Ever  since  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  had  taken 
possession  of  Jackson  Park  and  fenced  it  in,  the  Committee 
on  Grounds  and  Buildings  had  exercised  complete  control 
within  the  inclosure.  This  committee  had  been  clothed 

1O  (145) 


1 46  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

with  absolute  authority  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  and 
was  supreme  on  all  matters  relating  to  the  preparation 
of  the  grounds  and  the  construction  of  the  buildings. 
Through  its  Construction  Department  it  had  achieved 
results  beyond  the  expectation  of  any  one  when  the 
work  was  begun;  yet  it  was  not  clear  in  the  summer  of 
1892  that  the  great  enemy,  TIME,  had  been  finally  van- 
quished. It  was  quite  clear  in  the  minds  of  every  member 
of  the  committee  that  any  lessening  of  the  high  state  of 
efficiency  hitherto  attained  would  bring  ruin.  As  the 
members  of  the  committee  and  the  officers  of  the  company 
looked  forward  to  the  prospect  of  the  next  few  months, 
and  saw  the  construction  work  running  on  through  the 
fall,  winter,  and  spring,  and  the  installation  work  under 
the  director-general's  departments,  a  separate  and  inde- 
pendent organization,  proceeding  at  the  same  time,  the 
difficulties  were  appreciated  and  dreaded.  Even  with  a 
central  control,  grasping  both  of  these  functions,  confusion 
and  discord  would  naturally  arise;  without  such  control, 
disaster  seemed  certain.  In  the  language  of  Mr.  Stone, 
the  chairman  of  the  committee,  "The  exhibitor  is  about 
to  break  in,"  and,  under  the  Act  of  Congress,  the  exhibitor 
was  a  factor  over  which  the  Board  of  Directors  had  no 
control. 

This  danger  had  always  weighed  upon  the  minds  of  the 
directors,  but  thanks  to  the  devotion  of  all  to  the  common 
object,  little  inconvenience  had  yet  been  felt  because  of  it. 
As  the  long  struggle  to  secure  from  the  national  Govern- 
ment recognition  of  its  share  of  the  financial  burden  drew 
to  a  close,  the  idea  of  creating  a  new  authority,  which 
should  combine  the  powers  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  with  those  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition  as  to  all  features  except 
awards,  took  more  definite  form.  Since  the  adoption  of 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  ADMINISTRATION.  147 

the  compact  of  November,  1890,  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  had  held  few  meeting's.  Its  Board  of  Refer- 
ence and  Control,  consisting-  of  eight  members  of  the 
Commission,  had  met  usually  once  in  two  months  and  exer- 
cised the  powers  of  the  Commission.  In  addition  to  this 
the  committees  on  Ceremonies  and  Awards  had  held 
meetings  for  the  transaction  of  the  business  committed  to 
their  charge.  The  matter  of  awards  was  felt  to  be  pecul- 
iarly a  function  of  the  Commission,  that  would  not  in  any 
way  interfere  with  the  construction,  installation,  or  opera- 
tion of  the  Exposition ;  therefore,  it  was  not  thought  that 
any  change  in  this  particular  should  be  made.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  ceremonies  for  the  dedication  of  the  Exposition 
in  October,  1892,  and  for  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  in 
1893,  had  been  committed  to  a  Joint  Committee  on  Cere- 
monies, composed  of  eight  members  from  each  body,  and 
as  their  work  was  progressing  satisfactorily,  and  could  be 
subjected  to  control  whenever  it  came  in  contact  with 
the  physical  operations  within  the  park  inclosure,  it  was 
not  deemed  necessary  to  disturb  the  labors  of  this  joint 
committee. 

The  initiative  for  concentration  of  control  was  taken 
by  the  Board  of  Directors,  with  the  hope  of  providing 
satisfactorily  for  the  approaching  emergency.  Directors 
were  of  the  opinion  that  your  company,  being  the  active 
agent,  charged  with  the  disbursement  of  the  funds  for  the 
preparation  of  the  Exposition,  should  control  the  new 
authority  to  be  created.  The  Board  of  Directors,  therefore, 
proposed  to  the  Board  of  Reference  and  Control  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Commission  that  a  board  or  committee 
of  five  be  created,  of  which  three  members  would  be 
directors  and  two  commissioners.  The  proposition  was 
rejected.  The  Board  of  Reference  and  Control,  while 
recognizing  the  emergency  existing,  refused  to  surrender 


148  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  Commission's  share  of  power.  They  claimed  that  to 
place  over  the  Exposition  a  body  clothed  with  supreme 
authority,  in  which  body  the  Commission  should  have  only 
a  minority  representation,  would  be  inconsistent  with  the 
dignity  of  the  Commission  and  the  purposes  for  which  it 
had  been  created ;  that  acquiescence  in  such  an  act  by  the 
Board  of  Reference  and  Control  could  not  be  justified 
when  the  Commission  should  again  assemble,  and  that  it 
would  subject  the  Board  to  severe  criticism.  This  Board, 
therefore,  formally  rejected  the  proposition  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  and  by  this  act  a  question  of  difference  was 
raised  between  the  two  bodies. 

By  the  compact  of  November,  1890,  when  the  president 
of  either  body  should  certify  that  a  difference  had  arisen 
between  the  two  bodies  upon  any  question,  the  Board  of 
Reference  and  Control  of  the  Commission  was  to  sit  with 
a  similar  body  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  as  a 
Committee  of  Conference,  and  the  action  of  this  conference 
on  such  question  of  difference  should  be  final  and  binding 
upon  both  bodies.  Such  a  conference  was  called  and 
several  sessions  were  held,  with  the  hope  of  speedily  arriv- 
ing at  a  satisfactory  basis  for  adjustment  of  the  difference, 
everyone  being  alive  to  the  danger  of  each  day's  delay. 

The  conference  evolved  a  plan  which  provided  for  a 
Council  of  Administration  composed  of  two  directors  and 
two  commissioners,  thus  providing  for  an  equal  represen- 
tation of  each  body.  To  this  council  was  given  "absolute 
and  final  jurisdiction  and  control  over  all  matters  of  gen- 
eral administration  of  the  Exposition,  including  the  instal- 
lation of  exhibits  and  all  agencies  employed  in  that  behalf." 
It  had  no  power  to  expend  moneys  belonging  to  this  com- 
pany, except  when  duly  appropriated  by  the  Board  of 
Directors.  The  agreement  provided  that  there  should  be 
a  director  of  works  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Directors, 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  ADMINISTRATION.  149 

and  that  in  all  matters  the  director  of  works  and  the 
director-general  should  be  "subject  to  the  control  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  Council  of  Administration."  The  plan 
was  embodied  in  a  compact  adopted  by  the  Committee  of 
Conference  on  August  18,  1892. 

The  compact  thus  adopted  was  submitted  to  the  Board 
of  Directors  on  the  same  day.  The  action  of  the  Confer- 
ence Committee,  being  authoritative,  needed  no  ratification 
by  the  Board  of  Directors,  but  it  met  with  general  approval 
as  the  best  possible  outcome  of  the  situation  under  existing 
circumstances.  The  only  fear  expressed  was  that  the  old 
question  of  dual  control  had  not  been  finally  disposed  of, 
but  might  reappear  in  the  newly-created  Council  of  Admin- 
istration ;  that  disagreement  might  arise  in  that  body,  in 
which  the  two  directors  might  find  themselves  arrayed 
against  the  two  commissioners.  It  is  proper  to  say  that 
the  fear  proved  to  be  groundless.  The  council  worked 
harmoniously  at  all  times,  feeling  itself  under  the  heaviest 
pressure  and  consecrated  to  a  task  which,  no  matter  how 
faithfully  discharged,  would  certainly  prove  imperfect  in 
some  particulars,  and  leave  room  for  criticism  by  those 
who  would  look  only  at  results,  and  not  at  obstacles  to  be 
overcome.  The  members  of  the  council  drew  close  to 
each  other  and  lent  to  each  other  that  cooperation  born 
of  the  presence  of  imminent  danger.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  the  Council  of  Administration  was  never  com- 
pelled to  place  upon  its  records  a  dissenting  vote  upon 
any  of  the  important  questions  and  controversies  which 
came  before  it. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  when  the 
compact  above  referred  to  was  presented,  August  18,  1892, 
the  resignation  of  President  Baker,  forwarded  from  London, 
was  presented  and  accepted.  The  vice-president  was  elected 
president,  and  at  the  same  time  he  and  Charles  H.  Schwab 


150  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

were  chosen  members  of  the  Council  of  Administration. 
Ferdinand  W.  Peck  was  elected  vice-president  to  fill  the 
vacancy  created  in  that  position.  The  Board  of  Reference 
and  Control  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  chose 
George  V.  Massey  of  Delaware  and  J.  W.  St.  Clair  of  West 
Virginia  as  councilors,  and  on  the  following  day  the  council 
met  and  organized.  Your  president  was  chosen  chairman, 
and  Amory  W.  Sawyer,  the  former  secretary  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  was  elected  assistant 
secretary.  The  post  of  secretary  was  left  vacant  for  the 
time,  and  subsequently  Mr.  Sawyer  was  promoted  to  that 
office.  Within  the  next  two  days  the  Committee  on 
Grounds  and  Buildings  turned  over  its  affairs  to  the 
council,  and  thenceforth  the  council  held  daily  sessions, 
either  at  the  office  of  the  company  in  the  Rand-McNally 
Building,  168  Adams  Street,  or  in  the  Service  Building  at 
Jackson  Park. 

By  the  action  recited  above  the  Exposition  was  relieved 
from  a  great  difficulty.  It  is  only  just  to  pay  a  tribute 
here  to  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings  for  the 
broad-minded  and  intelligent  manner  in  which  its  members 
recognized  and  faced  this  problem  of  administration.  They 
had  carried  the  great  and  beautiful  work  at  least  halfway 
to  completion.  Under  their  jurisdiction  plans  had  been 
perfected  and  so  far  realized  that  the  future  glory  of  the 
Exposition  could  be  clearly  discerned.  Yet  between  this 
period  and  the  completion  of  the  work  stretched  difficulties, 
dangers,  and  possibilities  of  failure  which  they  must  have 
fully  understood.  To  relinquish  control  at  this  time  over 
the  superb  organization  which,  through  their  chief  of  con- 
struction, they  had  created,  and  take  the  chance  of  seeing 
their  work  finished  by  other  hands,  and  perhaps  not  as 
they  had  contemplated,  required  public  spirit  and  unselfish 
devotion  to  the  cause  in  the  highest  degree,  and  we  must 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  ADMINISTRATION.  151 

honor  these  gentlemen  in  that  they  were  equal  to  the 
emergency  that  confronted  them. 

A  word  must  be  said,  too,  as  to  the  difficult  position  in 
which  the  new  body  was  placed.  At  best  the  arrangement 
was  open  to  the  criticism  of  "swapping  horses  while 
crossing  the  stream."  True,  the  change  was  necessary,  but 
the  difficulties  none  the  less  great.  The  new  council  was 
required  to  familiarize  itself  with  the  details  of  the  old 
committee's  work,  and  at  the  same  time  assume  control 
over  the  director-general  and  his  departments. 

The  last  of  the  huge  steel  trusses  of  the  Manufac- 
tures Building  had  been  placed  in  position  a  few  days 
before  the  council  came  into  power.  The  roof  of  the 
building  was  not  half  completed.  The  date  fixed  for 
the  dedication  of  the  Exposition  buildings  was  only  two 
months  off,  and  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  less  than 
nine  months  distant.  It  was  like  the  changing  of  com- 
manders between  two  battles  in  our  Civil  War.  Never- 
theless, the  members  of  the  council  were  familiar  in  a 
general  way  with  every  phase  of  the  Exposition  work,  and 
the  president,  while  less  familiar  with  the  work  of  con- 
struction than  were  the  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Grounds  and  Buildings,  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
financial  policy  of  your  company,  of  its  resources,  and  of 
the  estimates  of  liabilities  and  expenditures  necessary,  and 
had  given  much  time  and  thought  to  the  financial  side  of 
the  Exposition. 

Another  matter  which  remained  for  adjustment  was  the 
adoption  of  "rules  for  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
governing  rates  of  entrance  and  admission  fees  and  other- 
wise affecting  the  rights,  privileges,  and  interests  of  exhib- 
itors and  the  public  within  the  grounds  adopted  as  a  site  for 
said  Exposition."  (Act  of  Congress,  April  26,  1890,  Section 
7.)  The  Act  provided  that  these  rules  should  be  adopted 


152  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  your  company  and  might  be 
modified  by  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  but  only 
with  the  consent  of  two-thirds  of  all  the  commissioners. 
The  Board  of  Directors  had  a  Committee  on  Rules  which, 
from  time  to  time,  had  approved  rules  governing  the 
various  exhibit  departments,  but  these  rules  had  gone  into 
force  without  being  submitted  to  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  for  approval,  as  that  body  was  not,  at  the  time,  / 
in  session.  The  subject  had  been  referred  to  Director  J.  J. 
P.  Odell,  who  did  much  toward  reducing  to  a  system  the 
miscellaneous  material  that  had  accumulated  in  the  guise 
of  regulations.  The  Board  of  Directors  was  not  disposed 
to  formulate  special  and  particular  rules  for  every  branch 
and  division  of  the  work,  but  simply  to  make  general  rules 
sufficiently  elastic  to  provide  for  emergencies,  allowing 
each  department  of  the  Exposition  to  formulate  particular 
regulations  as  circumstances  might  from  time  to  time, 
require.  Such  particular  regulations  had  in  fact  been 
adopted  by  the  departments  of  Transportation,  Sewerage  and 
Water  Supply,  Fire,  Police  (Columbian  Guard),  Mechanical 
and  Electrical  Work,  the  Emergency  Hospital,  etc.  When, 
however,  the  Board  of  Directors  submitted  general  rules 
to  the  Commission  at  its  meeting  in  October,  1892,  the  latter 
body,  feeling  that  it  had  not  been  allowed  a  proper  -partici- 
pation in  the  framing  of  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
Exposition,  "modified"  these  general  rules  by  adding 
thereto  all  of  the  particular  regulations  of  every  depart- 
ment of  the  Exposition.  This  action  had  some  ridiculous 
consequences,  in  that  it  incorporated  into  the  rules  of  the 
Exposition  petty  regulations  which  were  subject  to  numer- 
ous modifications,  and,  in  fact,  had  been  practically  modi- 
fied before  the  Commission  "  modified  "  them.  The  general 
rules  which  the  directors  had  submitted,  and  whi<Xh  the  Com- 
mission adopted  with  modifications,  contained,  however,  a 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  ADMINISTRATION.  153 

clause  by  which  the  Board  of  Directors  reserved  the  right 
to  amend  or  add  to  the  rules  whenever  it  deemed  necessary. 
This  reservation,  fortunately,  gave  to  the  Board  of  Directors 
a  power  which  was  absolutely  necessary  to  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Exposition,  and  this  power  was  exercised  freely 
at  all  times  by  the  Council  of  Administration. 

The  rules  governing  rates  of  entrance  and  admission 
fees  provided  f or  a  "  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections," 
to  be  composed  of  the  president  of  the  Exposition,  the 
chairmen  of  its  committees  on  Finance  and  Ways  and 
Means,  and  the  treasurer  and  auditor.  This  bureau  received 
authority  to  control  the  gates  of  the  Exposition,  to  sell 
tickets,  to  receive  money  therefor,  and  to  collect  dues  from 
concessionaires. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  organization  of  this  bureau  was 
not  in  accordance  with  the  purposes  sought  in  the  creation 
of  the  Council  of  Administration.  It  was  the  opinion, 
however,  of  both  directors  and  commissioners  that  the 
revenues  of  the  Exposition  should  be  exclusively  within 
the  control  of  your  company,  and  ought  not  to  be  adminis- 
tered upon  by  members  of  the  Commission.  The  bureau 
was  composed  of  persons  whose  personal  experience  and 
official  positions  best  fitted  them  for  the  discharge  of  its 
duties,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  isolation  of  the  work 
assigned  to  it  would  relieve  the  already  overburdened 
Council  of  Administration.  This  hope  was  not  fully  realized 
because  the  president  was  a  member  of  both  bodies,  and 
one  whose  presence  would  constantly  be  needed  in  each. 
As  the  bureau  would  necessarily  have  to  deal  with  the 
physical  conditions  at  the  park,  it  was  possible  that,  acting 
independently,  its  determinations  might  not  be  in  harmony 
with  those  of  the  council.  Nevertheless,  since  two  members 
of  the  bureau  were  financial  officers  of  the  company,  and 
the  other  three  were  intimately  acquainted  with  its  financial 


154  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

work,  and  all  understood  the  value  of  harmony,  the  plan, 
if  it  was  a  bungling  one,  worked  very  well.  Indeed,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  now  what  could  have  been  done  without 
the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections.  The  excep- 
tionally good  organization  of  the  department  which  dealt 
with  admissions  at  the  gates  and  of  that  which  made  collec- 
tions from  concessionaires  were  the  work  of  this  bureau. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   DEDICATION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS. 

OCTOBER  12,  1892,  was  the  date  fixed  by  the  Act 
of  Congress  for  the  dedication  of  the  Exposition 
buildings.      It  was  found  desirable,  however,  to 
change  this  date.      On  this  day  the  four  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of   the  discovery  of  America  was  to 
be  observed  generally  throughout  the  country.     The  city 
of  New  York  had  arranged  for  an  elaborate  demonstration 
to  commemorate  the  landing  of  Columbus,  and  those  in 
charge  of  this  celebration  were  solicitous  lest  the  dedicatory 
ceremonies  in   Chicago   should  conflict  with  theirs,  espe- 
cially as  the    President    of    the   United   States  could  not 
attend  the  celebration  in  New  York  if  it  and  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Exposition  should  occur  upon  the  same  day. 

The  management  of  the  Exposition  was  therefore  urged 
to  consent  that  the  date  of  the  dedication  should  be 
changed  from  October  i2th  to  Friday,  October  2ist,  this 
being  the  correct  date  of  the  discovery  according  to  the 
revised  calendar  now  in  use,  besides  falling  upon  the  very 
day  of  the  week  on  which  Columbus  landed  in  the  New 
World.  The  Board  of  Directors  consented  to  this  change, 
feeling  that  it  would  be  a  graceful  act  to  accede  to  the 
wishes  of  the  citizens  of  New  York,  would  assist  them 
in  achieving  success  for  their  celebration,  and  would  at 
the  same  time  give  to  those  interested  in  local  celebra- 
tions throughout  the  country  an  opportunity  to  unite  with 
Chicago  in  the  great  event  two  weeks  later. 

In  the  spring  of   1891    the   dedicatory  ceremonies  had 

(155) 


156  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

been  referred  to  a  Committee  on  Ceremonies  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  acting  jointly  with  a  similar  committee  of  the 
Commission.  The  Committee  on  Ceremonies,  on  the  part 
of  the  Board,  consisted  of  the  following: 

Edward  F.  Lawrence,  Chairman. 
Charles  H.  Schwab.  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

William  D.  Kerfoot.  Charles  Henrotin. 

Charles  T.  Yerkes.  Alexander  H.  Revell. 

The  Committee  on  Ceremonies,  on  the  part  of  the 
Commission,  was: 

P.  A.  B.  Widener,  Chairman. 

James  Hodges.  Thomas  B.  Keogh. 

George  A.  Barbour.  Gorton  W.  Allen. 

Adlai  T.  Ewing.  V.  D.  Groner. 

The  dedication  of  the  Exposition  buildings  six  months 
before  the  enterprise  was  to  be  actually  inaugurated  was 
approved  as  a  means  of  disseminating  throughout  the 
country  a  knowledge,  of  the  grandeur  and  extent  of  the 
Exposition,  and  of  the  completeness  of  the  equipment 
which  Chicago  had  prepared  for  it.  An  elaborate  pro- 
gram was  prepared,  to  occupy  three  days,  and  to  be  pre- 
ceded by  Columbian  services  in  all  the  churches  on  the 
Sunday  before. 

The  program  was  as  follows: 

Wednesday,  October  igth. — Columbus  Day  in  all  the  schools  at  1.30 
o'clock.  Reception  and  ball  at  the  Auditorium  at  9  o'clock  in  the 
evening. 

Thursday,  October  ggth. —  Civic  parade  through  the  business  portion 
of  the  city,  beginning  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  reviewed  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  from  a  stand  erected  at  the  Adams 
Street  front  of  the  Custom  House.  Military  reception  and  ball  given  by 
Col.  Henry  L.  Turner  at  the  First  Regiment  Armory  in  the  evening. 
Dinner  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  distinguished 
guests  of  the  occasion  by  the  Fellowship  Club  at  Kinsley's. 

Friday,  October  2ist. — Military  parade  to  Jackson  Park,  reviewed 
by  the  President  in  Washington  Park.  Dedication  of  the  •  Exposition 
buildings  by  appropriate  ceremonies  in  the  Manufactures  Building  at 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  BUILDINGS.          157 

Jackson  Park.  Dedicatory  services  of  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary 
at  the  Auditorium  in  the  evening.  Fireworks  displays  in  the  parks  in 
the  north,  south,  and  west  divisions  of  the  city. 

Originally  it  had  been  intended  that  the  reception  and 
ball  on  Wednesday  evening  should  be  a  part  of  the  offi- 
cial ceremonies,  and  that  the  dedicatory  ceremonies  at 
Jackson  Park  should  include  the  movement  on  the  lagoons 
of  an  impressive  series  of  floats  styled  the  "  Procession  of 
the  Centuries."  An  appropriation  of  $150,000  had  been 
made  by  the  Board  of  Directors  to  meet  all  the  expenses 
of  the  ceremonies. 

The  reception  and  ball  were  omitted  from  the  official 
program,  and  were  taken  in  charge  personally  by  Maj.-Gen. 
Nelson  A.  Miles,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Messrs.  Marshall  Field, 
George  M.  Pullman,  Philip  D.  Armour,  and  N.  K.  Fairbank. 
This  arrangement  produced  very  satisfactory  results.  The 
function  occurred  at  the  Auditorium  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, October  ipth.  The  brilliant  event  elicited  great  praise 
for  its  faultless  arrangements  and  the  elegant  complete- 
ness of  its  details. 

Your  company  incurred  a  heavy  expenditure  for  the 
proposed  pageant  of  the  "  Procession  of  the  Centuries,"  the 
contracts  for  floats,  decorations,  costumes,  etc.,  amounting 
to  $90,000.  The  proposed  floats  were  to  illustrate  a  variety 
of  subjects  typifying  the  progress  of  civilization  at  various 
periods  in  American  history.  The  floats  were  to  be  of 
size  sufficient  to  produce  a  proper  effect  when  viewed  by 
spectators  from  the  banks  of  the  lagoons.  Their  dimen- 
sions were  to  be  such  as  to  forbid  their  passing  under  the 
bridges  which  were  to  span  the  lagoons,  therefore  the  con- 
struction of  the  bridges  was  to  be  postponed  until  after 
the  dedication.  Then  it  was  perceived  that  in  case  of 
fire  or  panic  in  the  Manufactures  Building  during  the  dedi- 
catory ceremonies,  there  would  be  only  one  bridge  —  that 


158  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

spanning  the  canal  north  of  the  Court  of  Honor  — over 
which  the  crowd  in  the  building  could  pass  to  reach  the 
exits  from  the  park.  The  conditions  presented  possibili- 
ties of  danger  and  loss  of  life  which  the  management  could 
not  consent  to  confront.  Besides  this  the  assemblage  of 
crowds  along  the  shores  of  the  lagoons  in  their  then  unfin- 
ished condition  involved  the  danger  of  serious  accidents 
as  well  as  expensive  damage.  Moreover  a  proper  under- 
standing had  not  been  reached  as  to  the  motive  power 
for  propelling  the  floats.  The  Committee  on  Ceremonies 
had  been  assured  by  the  Construction  Department  that 
satisfactory  motive  power  could  be  provided.  It  had  been 
suggested  that  the  floats  could  be  moved  by  a  cable,  like 
that  of  a  street  railway,  attached  to  engines  upon  the 
shore.  Doubtless  the  problem  of  motive  power  could  have 
been  solved  had  the  other  objections  been  less  weighty. 

Late  in  the  summer  it  was  decided  to  abandon  the  proj- 
ect. The  construction  of  the  floats  was  well  advanced, 
and  decorations  and  costumes  had  been  procured  at  great 
cost.  After  much  negotiation,  and  a  careful  estimate  of 
the  contractor's  expenses,  your  company  paid  $75,500  in 
full  for  the  outlay  already  made,  and,  in  addition,  $10,848.45 
for  the  temporary  wooden  building  erected  as  a  workshop 
in  which  the  floats  were  built.  This  expensive  failure  was 
to  some  extent  due  to  the  lack  of  concentration  and  close 
connection  between  the  various  parts  of  our  organization. 
To  a  greater  extent  it  was  due  to  the  hurry  incident  to 
the  completion  of  so  many  undertakings  in  so  short  a 
time,  giving  occasion  for  misunderstandings  and  mistakes 
such  as  could  not  occur  in  the  methodical  conduct  of  a 
well-ordered  business. 

It  was  urged  at  the  time  that  the  proposed  pageant 
was  not  in  keeping  with  the  dignity  of  the  Exposition. 
The  matter  of  "dignity"  was  in  those  days  so  jealously 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  BUILDINGS.         159 

guarded  as  to  become  at  times  almost  a  bugbear.  There 
was  nothing  intrinsically  bad  in  the  scheme  of  the  floats. 
Had  it  been  developed  properly,  as  doubtless  it  would  have 
been,  it  would  have  added  a  pleasing  and  inspiring  spectacle 
to  the  dedicatory  ceremonies.  During  the  Exposition 
season  processions  of  floats,  by  night  and  by  day,  on  the 
lagoons  and  on  land,  were  frequently  introduced  and  proved 
very  satisfactory,  giving  life  and  additional  interest  to  the 
charming  scene. 

President  Harrison  was  prevented  from  attending  the 
dedication  by  Mrs.  Harrison's  severe  illness,  which  soon 
afterward  proved  fatal.  Vice-President  Morton  repre- 
sented the  President  upon  this  occasion.  The  civic  parade, 
upon  the  day  preceding  the  dedication,  was  participated  in 
by  many  thousands  of  people,  including  all  the  non-mili- 
tary organizations  of  the  city  and  the  Governors  of  most 
of  the  States  of  the  Union,  accompanied  by  the  members 
of  their  respective  staffs.  It  was  a  most  inspiring  scene. 
The  procession  occupied  more  than  four  hours  in  passing 
the  grand  stand  at  the  custom  house,  where  it  was  reviewed 
by  Vice-President  Morton. 

In  the  meantime  directors  and  officers  were  gravely 
anxious  as  to  the  success  of  the  dedicatory  ceremonies 
upon  the  following  day.  The  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  were  in  process  of  elevation  and  the  road  was 
unable  to  supply  even  ordinary  facilities  for  transportation. 
Invitations  to  attend  the  ceremonies  had  been  issued  to 
members  of  Congress,  the  principal  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment, Governors  of  States  with  the  members  of  their  staffs, 
and  the  members  of  the  various  State  Legislatures.  Invi- 
tations had  been  assigned  for  distribution  by  members  of 
the  Commission  and  by  members  of  Congress.  Each  stock- 
holder of  the  Exposition  company  received  an  invitation. 
Thus  in  all  more  than  100,000  invitations  were  issued,  each 


160  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

admitting  a  gentleman  and  lady.  Possibly  one-half  of  these 
invitations  had  been  sent  to  persons  who  might  not  be  able 
to  use  them,  but  the  demand  for  admission  to  Jackson  Park 
on  Dedication  Day  was  so  great  that  it  was  reasonable  to 
expect  that  most  of  the  cards  of  admission  would  find  their 
way  into  use,  and  that  the  number  admitted  would  be  large 
enough  to  make  some  grave  disaster  possible,  either  within 
the  grounds  or  at  the  railway  stations.  Therefore  every 
precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  accident.  As  the  proces- 
sion was  to  pass  from  Washington  Park  to  Jackson  Park 
by  way  of  the  Midway  Plaisance,  across  the  tracks  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  a  large  temporary  wooden  viaduct 
was  constructed  over  these  tracks.  The  construction  of  this 
viaduct  was  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Directors  on  Sep- 
tember 26,  1892,  and  the  Work  was  finished  within  twenty- 
three  days,  at  a  cost  of  $9,616.11. 

On  October  2ist,  at  sunrise,  the  entire  central  portion 
of  the  city,  between  the  river  on  the  north  and  west  and 
Twelfth  Street  on  the  south,  was  cleared  by  the  police  of 
every  description  of  vehicles,  the  district  presenting  a 
mosf  peculiar  appearance  to  those  who  were  familiar  with 
it  upon  ordinary  days.  Carriages  conveying  persons  offi- 
cially connected  with  the  ceremonies  were  passed  through 
the  police  lines  by  means  of  cards  previously  issued  by 
Major  R.  W.  McClaughry,  chief  of  police. 

A  national  salute  was  fired  at  sunrise.  The  members 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  the  World's  Columbian  Commis- 
sion, and  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers,  and  the  distinguished 
guests  of  the  occasion,  in  carriages,  formed  in  line  on 
Michigan  Avenue  near  the  Auditorium,  whence  they  were 
escorted  by  United  States  troops  —  cavalry  and  light  artil- 
lery—south on  Michigan  Avenue  to  Twenty-ninth  Street; 
here  they  were  joined  by  Vice-President  Morton  and  party 
and  President  Palmer  of  the  Commission,  who  were  the 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  BUILDINGS.         161 

guests  of  your  president,  and  thence  moved  south  to  Wash- 
ington Park.  At  this  point  the  procession  was  received  by 
15,000  troops  of  the  regular  army  and  of  the  militia  of 
several  States,  drawn  up  for  review.  The  carriages  were 
then  parked  upon  the  great  meadow,  and  the  troops 
marched  past,  after  which  the  procession  moved  to  Jackson 
Park  by  way  of  the  Midway  Plaisance. 

A  light  luncheon  was  served  in  the  galleries  of  the 
Manufactures  Building  to  the  guests  in  the  procession. 
Elsewhere  provision  had  been  made  for  serving  luncheon 
to  the  entire  assemblage  waiting  in  the  park.  From  the 
number  of  invitations  issued,  as  heretofore  mentioned,  the 
magnitude  of  this  undertaking  will  be  understood.  It  was 
manifestly  impossible  to  serve  a  satisfactory  meal ;  the 
purpose  was  to  offer  merely  a  slight  refection  to  enable 
persons  within  the  park  to  withstand  the  fatigue  of  waiting 
for  the  grand  event  to  take  place.  It  was  not  deemed 
proper  to  permit  the  opening  of  restaurants  and  the  sale  of 
refreshments,  as  those  within  the  park  were  present  as 
guests  in  response  to  the  invitations  of  the  management. 
Refreshments  were  served  by  the  Wellington  Catering 
Company,  which  had  received  the  principal  concession  for 
restaurant  service  during  the  approaching  Exposition  sea- 
son. More  than  70,000  persons  were  supplied. 

The  interior  of  the  Manufactures  Building  presented  a 
grand  and  novel  spectacle.  At  the  middle  of  the  east  side 
was  erected  a  stand  or  platform  capable  of  seating  2,500 
people.  Over  it  and  high  above,  decorations  of  flags  and 
bunting  had  been  effectively  massed.  At  the  south  end  of 
the  building,  500  feet  away,  was  another  stand  for  the 
chorus,  capable  of  seating  5,500  people,  and  filled  with 
singers  whom  the  choral  director,  William  L.  Tomlins,  had 
trained  during  the  year  previous  for  rendering  the  music 

for  this  occasion.    Before  the  chorus  was  placed  the  Chi- 
li 


1 62  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

cago  Orchestra,  augmented  to  190  pieces  and  50  drums, 
and  led  by  Theodore  Thomas. 

In  front  of  the  grand  stand  were  chairs  and  benches  for 
the  accommodation  of  60,000  people,  covering  the  area  with- 
in the  large  trusses  of  the  building,  and  in  the  surrounding 
galleries  15,000  additional  seats  were  placed.  Immediately 
in  front  of  the  platform  were  tables  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  750  reporters.  Beyond  these  tables  15,000  seats 
were  reserved  for  the  families  of  directors,  commissioners, 
and  distinguished  guests  from  without  the  city. 

The  procession,  military  review,  and  escort  of  the  Vice- 
President  and  party  were  under  the  charge  of  Maj.-Gen. 
Nelson  A.  Miles,  U.  S.  A.,  commanding  the  Department 
of  the  Missouri,  and  the  credit  of  the  success  of  the  various 
maneuvres  is  due  to  his  skill  and  firmness.  The  burden 
of  guard  duty  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  the  pro- 
tection of  property  fell  chiefly  upon  his  troops  and  the 
Columbian  Guard.  The  immense  crowds  within  and  with- 
out the  park  and  the  extent  and  unfinished  condition  of 
the  grounds  made  this  by  no  means  an  easy  task. 

It  was  found  necessary  to  conduct  with  great  caution 
the  procession  over  the  viaduct  across  the  tracks  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  and  serious  delay  was  caused  at 
this  point;  otherwise  the  procession  would  have  reached 
the  Manufactures  Building  at  the  time  appointed.  Had 
the  plan  been  adopted,  as  was  urged  at  the  time,  for  a 
military  parade  extending  from  the  business  district  of  the 
city  to  Jackson  Park,  the  ceremonies  could  not  have  been 
concluded  until  after  nightfall.  General  Miles  had  opposed 
this  plan,  and,  being  in  charge  of  the  military  features  of 
the  day,  under  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  directed 
that  the  review  at  Washington  Park  should  occur  as  soon 
as  the  carriages  of  the  Vice-President  and  party  arrived 
at  that  point,  whence  the  procession  moved  to  the  Exposi- 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  BUILDINGS.         163 

tion  grounds.  For  this  decision  General  Miles  was  criti- 
cised, but  before  the  day  was  over  the  wisdom  of  his 
decision  was  apparent,  and  for  it  he  subsequently  received 
a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Board  of  Directors. 

When  the  ceremonies  were  about  to  begin,  it  was  found 
that  the  vast  areas  had  easily  absorbed  the  many  thou- 
sands who  were  entitled  to  admission,  and  that  the  fears 
of  the  management  as  to  congestion  were  groundless.  A 
large  crowd  had  gathered  outside  the  gates,  and  the  atten- 
tion of  your  president  being  called  to  this  by  the  director 
of  works  and  the  commandant  of  the  guards,  the  gates 
were  opened  to  all  who  desired  to  enter. 

The  scene  in  the  Manufactures  Building  will  never  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  it.  The  grand  platform 
was  occupied  by  officers  of  the  National  Government, 
members  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  officers  of  the  various 
States,  Senators  and  Representatives,  directors  and  commis- 
sioners. The  eye  and  brain  could  scarcely  comprehend 
the  vastness  of  the  audience  stretching  out  before  this 
platform,  nearly  every  one  seated  or  being  conducted  to 
seats  by  soldiers  and  the  Columbian  Guards  in  the  most 
orderly  manner.  There  was  little  motion,  but  the  air  was 
resonant  with  an  indescribable  hum  of  voices.  At  the  south 
end  of  the  building  the  chorus  of  5,000  persons  "seemed 
but  a  mere  island  in  an  ocean  of  humanity  !"*  The  number 
gathered  under  this  roof  can  not  be  accurately  determined, 
but  must  have  been  over  100,000  persons.  Perfect  order 
prevailed.  The  dignity  of  the  occasion  seemed  to  have 
cast  a  spell  over  the  audience. 

The  dedicatory  ceremonies  were  opened  with  the  "Colum- 
bian March,"  composed  by  Prof.  J.  K.  Paine  of  Cambridge, 
and  rendered  by  the  Columbian  orchestra  and  chorus. 
Prayer  was  offered  by  Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler,  D.  D., 

*  Report-of  Milward  Adams,  who  had  charge  of  the  seating  arrangements. 


REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT, 

LL.  D.,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  after  which 
came  the  introductory  address  by  the  director-general, 
George  R.  Davis.  Following  this  the  mayor  of  Chicago, 
Hempstead  Washburne,  delivered  an  address  of  welcome 
and  a  tender  of  the  freedom  of  the  city  of  Chicago  to  the 
Vice- President  and  the  representatives  of  foreign  nations. 
Selections  from  the  "Columbian  Ode,"  written  by  Miss 
Harriet  Monroe  of  Chicago,  were  read  by  Mrs.  Sarah  C. 
LeMoyne  of  New  York,  whose  resonant  voice  and  excellent 
delivery  overcame  the  difficulties  of  the  hall  to  a  greater 
extent  than  did  most  of  the  other  speakers.  Mrs.  Le 
Moyne's  reading  was  interspersed  with  selections  from  the 
same  ode,  set  to  music  by  George  W.  Chadwick  of  Boston, 
and  sung  by  the  Columbian  chorus.  After  this,  the  director 
of  works,  Daniel  H.  Burnham,  tendered  the  buildings  to 
your  president,  and  presented  to  him  the  master  artists  of 
construction  of  the  Exposition  in  an  address  setting  forth 
the  work  which  these  artists  had  accomplished.  This  was 
responded  to  by  your  president,  who  then  presented  to  the 
master  artists  the  commemorative  medals  which  had  been 
struck  for  the  occasion,  in  recognition  of  their  service. 
During  the  presentation  the  chorus  rendered  Mendels- 
sohn's "  To  the  Sons  of  Art."  The  president  of  the  Board 
of  Lady  Managers,  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer,  then  delivered  an 
address  on  the  work  of  the  lady  managers.  Your  president 
then  tendered  the  buildings  to  the  president  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission,  Hon.  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  who 
presented  them  to  the  Vice- President  of  the  United  States, 
Hon.  Levi  P.  Morton.  The  Vice- President  then,  on  behalf 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  formally  dedicated  the 
buildings  in  an  address,  closing  with  the  following  words: 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  I  hereby 
dedicate  these  buildings  and  their  appurtenances,  intended  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  for  the  use  of  the  World's  Colum- 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  BUILDINGS.         165 

bian  Exposition,  to  the  world's  progress  in  arts,  in  science,  in  agri- 
culture, and  in  manufacture.     I  dedicate  them  to  humanity. 
"God  save  the  United  States  of  America!" 

The  "Hallelujah  Chorus"  from  Handel's  "Messiah"  was 
then  sung,  following  which  the  dedicatory  oration  was  de- 
livered by  Hon.  Henry  Watterson  of  Kentucky.  At  the 
close  of  this  oration  the  Columbian  chorus  and  orchestra 
rendered  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner,"  following  which  was 
delivered  the  Columbian  oration  by  Hon.  Chauncey  M. 
Depew  of  New  York.  The  ceremonies  were  concluded 
with  prayer  by  his  eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore;  the  chorus,  "In  Praise  of  God,"  by  Beethoven; 
and  the  benediction,  by  the  Rev.  Henry  C.  McCook  of 
Philadelphia.  A  national  salute  was  fired  by  the  artillery 
as  the  ceremonies  came  to  a  close. 

The  perfect  weather  contributed  to  the  success  of  the 
occasion.  The  sunshine,  the  cloudless  sky,  and  the  spring- 
like air  lent  a  charm  to  the  grounds  that  seemed  to  more 
than  atone  for  their  unfinished  condition.  We  may  count 
the  dedication  on  October  21,  1892,  as  possibly  the  most 
successful  of  all  the  pageants,  ceremonies,  and  celebrations 
which  occurred  in  connection  with  the  Exposition.  The 
total  expenditure  for  this  occasion  amounted  to  $287,709.31, 
including  special  work  done  by  the  Construction  Depart- 
ment and  the  features  which  were  abandoned.  This  was 
almost  twice  the  original  estimate.  But  for  the  many 
alterations  in  the  original  plans  the  cost  would  have  been 
much  less.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  they 
were  worth  to  your  company  all  they  cost  and  much  more. 
More  unfavorable  rumors,  more  attacks  upon  your  plans 
and  management,  were  laid  at  rest  upon  this  day  than 
could  have  been  silenced  by  any  other  means. 

The  fact  that  the  immense  assemblage  gathered  in  the 
Manufactures  Building,  witnessed  the  impressive  program, 


1 66  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

and  dispersed  without  an  accident  worthy  of  note,  either 
within  or  without  the  half-finished  grounds,  spoke  for  the 
care,  intelligence,  and  efficiency  of  the  officers  and  em- 
ployes of  your  company,  of  the  officers  of  the  army,  and 
of  the  various  transportation  lines. 

This  was  the  first  great  task  encountered  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Administration,  and  caused  it  much  labor  and  grave 
anxiety.  Before  the  council  was  many  days  old  it  was 
compelled  to  exercise  its  powers  vigorously  in  all  depart- 
ments of  the  Exposition,  in  connection  with  the  proposed 
ceremonies,  to  harmonize  arrangements,  and  to  insure  the 
perfect  safety  of  the  public.  Had  any  casualty  occurred, 
through  negligence  or  unforeseen  contingency,  its  injurious 
effect  would  have  marred  the  success  of  the  enterprise 
six  months  later. 

The  representatives  of  the  press  who  attended  the 
ceremonies  included  many  distinguished  journalists,  and 
all  were  so  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  preparation  and  the  grandeur  of  the  scope  of  the 
Exposition  that  praise  and  commendation  for  the  great 
enterprise  awoke  all  over  the  country,  even  in  quarters 
where  only  adverse  criticism  had  been  heard  before. 

Thanks  are  due  to  Chairman  Lawrence  and  to  the 
members  of  the  Committee  on  Ceremonies  for  their  great 
labors  in  connection  with  this  occasion,  as  well  as  other 
occasions  where  suitable  ceremonies  were  required.  The 
work  of  this  committee  extended  over  two  years.  In  pre- 
paring for  the  dedication  its  members  were  confronted 
with  all  the  vexations  and  obstacles  which  the  crudeness 
of  our  organization  rendered  possible.  In  spite  of  this 
their  duties  were  creditably  discharged.  The  members  of 
the  committee  of  the  Commission,  being  non-residents, 
were  less  actively  engaged,  but  they  also  performed  valu- 
able services. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   BUREAU   OF   ADMISSIONS   AND   COLLECTIONS. 

THE  general  rules  and  regulations,  heretofore  re- 
ferred to  in  Chapter  VIII,  provided  for  a  Bureau 
of  Admissions  and  Collections,  which  was  in  real- 
ity a  committee  composed  of  the  chairmen  of  the 
committees  on  Finance  and  on  Ways  and  Means,  and  the 
president,  treasurer,  and  auditor  of  your  company.     It  was 
charged  with  the   duty  of  managing  and  controlling  the 
sale  and  collection  of  tickets  of  admission  and  the  issuance 
of  passes  to  the  Exposition  grounds;  also  with  the  collection 
of  moneys  which  might  become  due  to  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  on  account  of  privileges  and  concessions,  or 
from  exhibitors  or  State  boards.    This  bureau  was  author- 
ized to  adopt  such  regulations  and  to  employ  such  agents 
and  assistants  as  might  be  necessary. 

The  rules  provided  that  complimentary  tickets  of  ad- 
mission should  be  issued  to  those  whose  official  position 
demanded  recognition  by  the  Exposition,  viz.,  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  members  of 
the  Cabinet,  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  members  of  Congress  and  chief  officers  of  the 
National  Government,  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  Governors  of 
the  States  and  Territories,  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago and  the  members  of  the  city  council,  members  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Commission  and  their  alternates, 
members  and  ex-members  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  and  their  alternates, 
members  of  the  State  and  Territorial  World's  Fair  boards, 


1 68  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

members  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  United  States 
Government  Exhibit,  foreign  commissioners  and  their  sec- 
retaries, judges  and  jurors  of  awards,  all  executive  officers 
of  the  Exposition,  all  custom  house  officers,  clerks,  and 
employes  connected  with  the  United  States  Treasury 
Department  on  duty  within  the  Exposition  grounds,  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners,  "one 
each  to  a  representative  of  the  principal  and  most  promi- 
nent newspapers  of  this  and  foreign  countries,  and  to  any 
other  person  or  persons  who  may  be  adjudged  to  be 
entitled  to  a  complimentary  pass  by  the  president  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Commission,  the  president  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  the  director-general. 

The  rules  provided  that  "in  all  cases  where  a  pass  is 
issued  upon  the  request  of  the  president  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission,  the  president  of  the  Exposition,  or 
the  director-general,  such  pass  shall  bear  the  signature  of 
such  officer  who  makes  application  therefor."  These  rules 
were  so  indefinite  as  to  present  many  difficulties,  and 
were  never  closely  followed.  All  passes  of  this  character 
bore  facsimiles  of  the  signatures  of  the  presidents  of  the 
two  bodies  and  of  the  director-general,  and  they  were 
issued  upon  the  requisition  of  either  of  these  three  officers. 

The  rules  further  provided  for  the  issuance  of  passes 
to  all  necessary  employes  in  connection  with  the  work  of 
the  Exposition,  during  their  term  of  service,  and  to  each 
exhibitor  "one  pass,  provided  his  presence  is  required 
during  the  installation  of  his  exhibit  and  the  time  same 
is  on  exhibition,  and  also  to  all  necessary  and  regular 
employes  and  attendants  in  connection  with  exhibits;  also 
to  concessionaires  and  their  necessary  servants  and  em- 
ployes." 

The  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections  was  com- 
posed of  Edward  B.  Butler,  chairman  of  the  Committee 


B  UREA  U  OF  ADMISSIONS  AND  COLLECTIONS.    1 69 

on  Ways  and  Means ;  Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Finance ;  William  K.  Ackerman,  auditor ; 
Anthony  F.  Seeberger,  treasurer,  and  your  president.  It 
organized  by  electing  Mr.  Butler  chairman,  and  Howard  O. 
Edmonds,  the  secretary  of  your  company,  its  secretary. 
No  provision  was  made  as  to  the  relation  which  the 
bureau  should  sustain  to  the  Council  of  Administration. 
It  was  theoretically  an  independent  and  coordinate  body, 
applying  to  the  Board  of  Directors  for  needful  appropria- 
tions, and  pursuing  its  work  without  reference  to  any  other 
jurisdiction.  This  was  quite  wrong  in  theory.  But  even 
a  poor  system  may  work  fairly  well  when  the  persons 
operating  it  earnestly  desire  to  make  the  best  of  the 
situation,  and  to  do  their  work  discreetly,  carefully,  and 
thoroughly.  The  bureau  always  endeavored  to  keep  in 
touch  with  the  Council  of  Administration,  and  there  was 
never  any  serious  friction  between  the  two  bodies. 

As  the  name  indicated,  the  work  of  the  bureau  naturally 
divided  itself  into  two  departments,  that  for  the  control 
of  admissions,  and  that  for  the  collection  of  moneys  due 
from  concessions.  As  to  moneys  which  might  become 
due  from  exhibitors  and  State  boards,  suitable  arrange- 
ments had  already  been  made  for  collecting  them  through 
the  auditor's  office.  The  Department  of  Works  reported 
to  the  auditor  the  sums  due  for  work  done  on  such  accounts, 
for  which  the  auditor  rendered  bills  and  collected  pay- 
ment. 

Pursuant  to  the  recommendations  of  a  report  prepared 
by  the  auditor,  the  bureau  decided  to  appoint  a  superin- 
tendent of  admissions.  The  president  was  authorized  to 
offer  the  position  to  Horace  Tucker  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Tucker 
was  appointed  on  December  27,  1892,  and  immediately 
entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  A  superintend- 
ent of  collections  was  appointed  on  February  i,  1893. 


I  ;o  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  time  available  for  the  organization  of  these  two 
departments  was  altogether  too  short.  The  superintend- 
ent of  admissions  had  but  four  months  in  which  to  make 
all  his  preparations  and  complete  his  arrangements,  and 
owing  to  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  suitable  man  for  the 
position  of  superintendent  of  collections  that  officer,  when 
appointed,  had  less  than  three  months  at  command.  A 
year  would  have  been  a  very  short  time  for  the  purpose. 
When  we  realize  how  great  was  the  disadvantage  under 
which  these  officers  were  placed,  ample  allowance  can  be 
made  for  any  defects  or  shortcomings  which  may  have 
been  found  in  their  work.  Not  that  any  great  allowance 
is  necessary,  but  for  all  cases  where  arrangements  were 
found  incomplete  on  May  ist,  or  where  mistakes  were  made, 
the  great  handicap  of  insufficient  time  is  an  ample  excuse. 
The  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  had  previously  given 
attention  to  the  subjects  of  admissions  and  collections,  but 
the  pressure  of  many  other  matters  had  postponed  these 
until  long  after  the  period  of  safety. 

For  a  complete  record  of  the  work  of  the  Department 
of  Admissions,  reference  is  made  to  the  report  of  its  super- 
intendent, and  the  statistics  attached  thereto.  They  are 
transmitted  herewith  and  made  a  part  of  this  report. 

Soon  after  the  appointment  of  this  officer  the  bureau 
determined  to  adopt  the  system  of  admission  by  an  engraved 
and  printed  ticket  rather  than  by  the  use  of  half  dollars 
as  tickets,  as  at  the  Centennial.  A  contract  was  made 
with  the  American  Bank  Note  Company  for  6,000,000  of 
tickets  in  four  series,  each  distinguished  by  the  vignette 
on  its  face;  one  series  bearing  the  portrait  of  Columbus, 
another  that  of  Washington,  the  third  that  of  Lincoln, 
and  the  fourth  the  head  of  a  typical  North  American 
Indian.  It  was  supposed  that  these  tickets  would  be  valued 
as  souvenirs,  and  they  were  to  be  sold  not  only  at  the 


B  UREA  U  OF  A  D MISSIONS  A  ND  COLLECTIONS.    1 7 1 

gates,  but  in  the  city  and  elsewhere,  and  to  be  good  for 
admission  on  any  day  of  the  Exposition. 

For  most  of  the  admissions  a  cheaper  form  of  ticket 
was  to  be  used,  of  which  25,000,000  were  ordered.  They 
were  divided  into  several  series,  each  series  being  dis- 
tinguished by  letters  and  figures,  as  A,  i  A,  2  A,  B,  i  B, 
2  B,  etc.  These  tickets  were  to  be  sold  only  at  the  booths 
immediately  without  the  turnstiles  and  were  to  be  good 
only  on  the  day  of  sale,  tickets  of  one  series  being  given 
out  for  sale  at  the  beginning  of  a  day  and  instructions 
given  to  ticket  takers  not  to  recognize  tickets  of  any  other 
series.  The  use  of  a  series  might  be  discontinued  and 
another  substituted  at  any  time  in  the  course  of  a  day, 
thus  reducing  to  a  minimum  the  danger  of  counterfeiting. 

The  souvenir  tickets  were  of  the  size  of  the  old  United 
States  fractional  currency  notes,  upon  an  especially  pre- 
pared paper  having  a  mottled  appearance  which  could  be 
detected  by  holding  the  ticket  up  to  the  light.  The  spots 
in  the  paper  could  also  be  recognized  by  the  fingers.  The 
engraving  was  elaborate  and  handsome,  and  included  fac- 
similes of  the  signatures  of  the  president  and  treasurer 
of  the  Exposition;  they  were  not  likely  to  be  counterfeited. 
The  cheaper  form  of  tickets  were  protected  against  coun- 
terfeiting because  only  the  superintendent  of  admissions 
and  the  head  of  the  ticket  department  knew  what  series 
would  be  used  on  any  day  until  the  hour  for  opening  the 
gates.  Had  it  been  suspected  on  any  day  that  counter- 
feits were  in  circulation  they  could  have  been  easily  detected 
simply  by  changing  the  series  on  sale  at  the  ticket  booths. 

A  turnstile  was  adopted  which  had  combined  with  it 
a  chopper  for  mutilating  the  tickets  and  a  register  to 
indicate  the  number  of  persons  who  had  passed  through. 
The  chopper  was  afterward  abandoned  because  the  muti- 
lation of  the  ticket  was  too  great  to  allow  a  satisfactory 


172  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

count  for  checking  the  register  and  the  number  of  tickets 
sold. 

The  enormous  number  of  free  admissions  which  the 
management  had  reason  to  expect  was  a  cause  of  much 
anxiety.  As  might  be  expected  the  system  was  subjected 
to  abuse  and  many  persons  obtained  admission  who  were 
not  justly  entitled  thereto,  but  it  is  the  belief  of  your  presi- 
dent that  the  abuse  was  detected  in  the  majority  of  cases 
where  it  extended  over  a  considerable  period,  and  subse- 
quently there  was  no  cause  for  complaint.  Had  there  been, 
before  the  opening,  time  to  organize  the  department 
thoroughly,  it  is  just  to  suppose  that,  under  the  watchful 
attention  of  the  superintendent,  the  abuse  of  passes  would 
have  been  reduced  to  a  positive  minimum. 

Neatly  engraved  cards  of  admission  were  issued  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  members  of  Congress, 
Governors,  etc.  These  were  passes  which  would  not  be 
frequently  used.  For  most  of  the  free  admissions,  a  photo- 
graphic pass  was  provided,  in  the  form  of  a  book,  which 
bore,  on  the  inside  of  the  cover,  the  photograph  and  auto- 
graph of  the  person  entitled  to  use  it.  The  rest  of  the 
book  was  made  up  of  coupons,  one  for  each  day  of  the 
Exposition.  The  coupons  were  detached  as  the  holder 
passed  the  turnstile,  and  were  deposited  in  the  receptacle. 

It  was  not  expected  that  the  ticket  takers  would  scru- 
tinize the  photograph  at  each  presentation,  but  it  enabled 
the  superintendent  to  require  scrutiny  and  comparison 
whenever  he  desired.  Even  if  the  holder  of  a  pass  were 
not  refused  admission,  a  clew  could  be  established  through 
the  report  of  the  ticket  taker,  giving  to  the  office  of  the 
department  the  number  of  pass  supposed  to  be  illegally 
held.  If  an  investigation  made  it  seem  necessary,  the 
pass  could  be  taken  up  when  next  offered.  More  than 


SURE  A  U  OF  ADMISSIONS  AND  COLLECTIONS.    1 73 

all,  the  fact  that  a  photograph  was  contained  in  the  pass 
book  made  persons  chary  of  attempting  to  use  it  unlawfully. 

Some  opposition  to  the  photographic  passes  was  expected 
among  the  thousands  of  employes  and  exhibitors,  and, 
therefore,  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  resolved  to  put  the 
system  in  effect  with  directors  and  commissioners  as  an 
example  to  others,  so  that  it  could  be  urged  that  the  sys- 
tem was  accepted  by  all  alike,  the  highest  as  well  as  the 
lowest.  This  course  provoked  some  friction,  although  in 
the  main  it  was  acceded  to  when  the  reasons  were  prop- 
erly explained.  When,  however,  the  National  Commission 
assembled  in  April,  1893,  a  vigorous  protest  was  made  by 
some  commissioners  who  thought  an  indignity  had  been 
put  upon  them. 

In  addition  to  these  two  forms  of  admission,  passes 
were  required  for  laborers  employed  by  contractors  doing 
work  for  the  Exposition,  or  by  exhibitors  in  the  work  of 
installation.  These  laborers  were  constantly  changing, 
and  diminished  in  number  as  the  Exposition  approached 
completion.  It  was  not  feasible  to  require  photographs 
from  them,  as  they  were  hired  and  discharged  from  day 
to  day.  For  them  workmen's  tickets,  good  for  one  month, 
were  printed,  with  a  different  color  for  each  month. 
These  were  good  only  at  certain  turnstiles,  and  they  were 
punched  as  the  holder  went  through.  A  deposit  of  $i 
was  required  as  a  guarantee  for  the  return  of  the  ticket 
when  the  holder  ceased  to  work  for  his  employer.  Single 
day  workmen's  tickets  were  also  issued. 

Between  December  27,  1892,  when  the  superintendent 
of  admissions  was  appointed,  and  the  opening  of  the 
Exposition,  contracts  for  the  engraved  souvenir  tickets, 
the  pass  books,  and  the  25,000,000  of  ordinary  tickets  were 
closed  and  filled.  A  corps  of  ticket  sellers,  ticket  takers, 
and  inspectors  was  organized.  An  office  force  was  recruited 


174  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

and  instructed  in  the  issuance  of  the  thousands  of  passes 
and  the  keeping  of  an  orderly  record  thereof,  and  in  the 
work  of  issuing  and  accounting  for  the  tickets  sold  and 
taken  in  from  day  to  day.  Necessarily  the  details  of  issu- 
ing photographic  passes,  securing  the  photograph,  and 
affixing  it  upon  the  pass  book,  and  securing  such  records 
as  would  render  information  regarding  the  passes  readily 
accessible  for  the  purpose  of  detecting  abuses,  were  mat- 
ters requiring  much  labor  and  careful  attention.  At  the 
same  time  entrances,  ticket  booths,  turnstiles,  the  sale  of 
tickets  at  points  remote  from  Jackson  Park,  to  prevent 
congestion  there,  had  to  be  provided  for.  The  contract 
for  turnstiles  was  not  closed  until  so  late  that  they  could 
hardly  be  ready  by  May  ist,  and  in  fact  they  were  not 
all  ready  for  service  until  the  middle  of  June. 

The  organization  of  the  Department  of  Collections  was 
an  inconceivably  more  difficult  task.  While  the  revenues 
anticipated  from  this  source  were  not  expected  to  exceed 
one-third  or  one-half  that  from  the  gate  admissions,  the 
labor  of  collecting  it  was  far  more  difficult.  It  would 
have  been  better  if  the  superintendent  of  collections  had 
been  from  the  outset  identified  with  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means  in  the  granting  of  concessions.  The 
Exposition  was,  however,  more  than  usually  fortunate  in 
the  choice  of  a  superintendent  for  this  department.  It 
now  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  work  of  collecting  from 
concessionaires  was  far  better  performed  than  the  manage- 
ment had  any  reason  to  hope  for  under  the  circumstances. 
I  make  this  admission  the  more  readily  because,  owing  to 
my  long  connection  with  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means,  the  blame  for  failure  to  provide  for  this  need  at 
an  earlier  day  must  fall  in  some  measure  upon  myself. 
The  fact  is  that  while  the  members  of  the  committee 
knew  that  theoretically  it  was  possible  to  perfect  systems 


B  UREA  U  OF  ADMISSIONS  AND  COLLECTIONS,    i  75 

for  the  auditing  of  concessions  so  that  good  results  would 
follow,  they  had  not  been  able  to  find  a  man  available 
for  their  purpose  to  whom  the  work  could  be  entrusted. 
The  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections,  when  organized, 
promptly  received  applications  for  the  position  of  superin- 
tendent of  collections,  but,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  the 
administration  of  a  difficult  office,  it  was  necessary  to  find 
some  one  who  had  not  applied  for  the  place  and  did  not 
want  it.  While  the  bureau  was  considering  this  matter, 
and  was  filled  with  anxiety  for  the  future  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Collections,  Paul  Blackmar  of  Minneapolis  was 
mentioned  as  possessing  qualifications  which  admirably 
adapted  him  for  this  work.  In  answer  to  a  telegram,  he 
came  to  Chicago  and  had  an  interview  with  your  presi- 
dent, at  the  close  of  which  he  agreed  to  undertake  the 
duty  if  his  services  should  be  desired.  The  matter  was 
considered  for  a  few  days  with  great  thoroughness,  the 
appointment  made  by  telegraph,  and  Mr.  Blackmar  entered 
upon  his  duties  on  February  i,  1893. 

The  compensation  for  each  of  these  superintendents 
was  fixed  by  the  bureau  at  $400  per  month,  a  sum  which 
was  regarded  by  all  as  very  small  for  the  character  of 
the  work  expected  of  these  men.  The  bureau  was  influ- 
enced by  the  serious  condition  of  the  company's  finances 
at  that  time.  Neither  of  the  superintendents  gave  much 
consideration  to  the  amount  of  salary  to  be  received  by 
them,  and  in  both  cases  the  amount  was  fixed  after  they 
had  entered  upon  their  duties.  Both  officers  knew  that 
the  term  of  service  would  be  less  than  a  year,  and  felt 
that  the  salary  they  might  receive  would  be  less  of  an 
object  than  the  reputation  to  be  achieved  by  the  suc- 
cessful management  of  the  important  offices  entrusted  to 
them. 

Within  a  few  days  after  Mr.  Blackmar's  appointment 


176  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

he  had  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  concession 
contracts  previously  entered  into  by  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means.  As  fast  as  executed  these  had  been 
filed  with  the  auditor,  and  that  officer  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  have  these  contracts  printed  and  bound  in  a 
convenient  book  form  suitable  for  ready  reference.  Mr. 
Blackmar  next  secured  the  services  of  two  expert  account- 
ants of  a  high  order  of  ability  and  capacity  for  attacking 
problems  outside  the  usual  routine  of  auditing  and  account- 
ing. With  the  aid  of  these  and  of  others  employed  as  the 
work  progressed,  Mr.  Blackmar  grouped  the  concessions 
according  to  their  characteristic  features  and  perfected 
systems  applicable  to  each  group,  with  the  idea  of  effect- 
ing a  daily  settlement  with  each  concessionaire  for  the 
amount  of  his  business  and  collecting  from  him  the  pro- 
portionate amount  of  the  proceeds  accruing  to  the  Expo- 
sition under  the  contract.  This  being  accomplished,  he 
turned  over  to  the  experts  whom  he  had  employed,  the 
preparation  of  the  forms,  blanks,  and  books  necessary  for 
the  work  before  them;  and  he  contracted  for  tickets,  repre- 
senting various  sums  of  money,  to  be  used  by  the  cashiers 
of  the  various  concessionaires.  The  first  order  was  for 
36,000,000  tickets  and  over  60,000,000  were  used.  He  then 
began,  by  personal  interviews  with  concessionaires,  to  impart 
to  them  the  means  which  he  expected  to  take  for  auditing 
their  concessions,  and  the  rules  with  which  he  would  expect 
them  to  comply.  By  these  interviews  he  became  person- 
ally acquainted  with  the  various  concessionaires,  secured 
their  confidence  wherever  possible,  won  over  those  disposed 
to  resist  the  methods  employed,  and  dealt  with  those  who 
remained  refractory  as  seemed  best  under  the  circum- 
stances. All  contracts  contained  the  provision  that  the 
agents  of  the  Exposition  should  prescribe  the  methods 
for  auditing  concessions,  and  therefore  the  superintendent 


BUREA  U  OF  ADMISSIONS  AND  COLLECTIONS.    1 77 

had  it  in  his  power  to  enforce  obedience  where  it  could 
not  be  secured  by  other  means. 

By  rapid  and  incessant  work,  the  greatest  possible  econ- 
omy of  time,  the  application  of  common  sense,  persistence, 
and  a  high  order  of  business  tact  and  skill  as  an  accountant, 
the  superintendent  of  concessions  solved  a  problem,  the 
difficulty  of  which  can  not  be  adequately  set  forth  in  this 
report.  In  the  main  his  preparations  proved  adequate  when 
tested  in  the  early  days  of  the  Exposition  season.  In  some 
instances  radical  departures  and  complete  changes  were 
required.  The  necessity  for  these  was  quickly  recognized 
and  promptly  acted  upon  by  the  superintendent.  For  the 
full  details  of  his  work  I  refer  to  the  report  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  collections,  which  is  herewith  respectfully  trans- 
mitted and  is  made  a  part  of  this  report. 

In  spite  of  the  great  care  exercised,  and  the  desire  of 
its  members  for  perfect  cooperation  with  the  Council  of 
Administration,  instances  of  the  clashing  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  two  bodies,  the  bureau  and  the  council,  occasionally 
occurred.  These,  though  annoying  at  the  time,  were  not 
serious  and  perhaps  would  have  occurred  no  matter  what 
organization  had  been  adopted.  Naturally  the  direct  over- 
sight of  the  two  superintendents  and  their  departments 
fell  to  your  president,  who,  being  an  active  executive 
officer,  was  always  upon  the  ground,  ready  to  hear  and 
advise  these  officers  and  to  instruct  them  when  necessary. 

The  opinion  began  to  prevail  that  the  Department  •  of 
Admissions  and  Collections  could  be  better  administered 
under  the  authority  of  the  Council  of  Administration. 
During  one  of  those  periods  when  the  administration  was 
being  overhauled  for  the  purpose  of  simplifying  it,  the 
Board  of  Directors  discontinued  the  Bureau  of  Admissions 
and  Collections  and  placed  the  two  departments  thereof 
under  the  Council  of  Administration.  This  body  promptly 

12 


178  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

turned  them  over  to  its  chairman,  instructing  the  two  super- 
intendents to  report  to  him  and  receive  their  instructions 
from  him. 

A  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  to  the  members  of  the 
Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections  for  their  labors  in  this 
field.  Each  member  was  charged  with  other  important 
duties  which  engrossed  all  his  time  during  business  hours. 
The  evening  was  chosen  as  the  only  available  time  for  the 
meetings  of  the  bureau,  and  the  work  often  extended  late 
into  the  night.  The  chairman,  Mr.  Butler,  and  the  auditor, 
Mr.  Ackerman,  were  frequently  called  upon  for  important 
and  exacting  duties  as  special  committees  of  the  bureau, 
and  the  thanks  of  the  company  are  certainly  due  them  in 
this  as  in  many  other  instances  for  the  work  they  performed 
and  the  results  they  achieved. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LAST    MONTHS    OF    CONSTRUCTION,    INSTALLATION,    AND 
ORGANIZATION. 

WHEN  the  Council  of  Administration  entered 
upon  its  duties  on  August  19,  1892,  Jackson 
Park  presented  a  most  interesting  spectacle. 
It  was  teeming  with  activity.  Nearly  10,000 
men  were  employed.  All  of  the  buildings,  except  Fes- 
tival Hall,  the  Anthropological  Building,  and  the  addi- 
tional Service  Building  (Accounting  Building),  were  under 
contract.  The  roof  of  the  building  for  Manufactures  and 
Liberal  Arts  was  about  half  completed;  the  Mines  Build- 
ing was  finished,  and  several  others  were  practically  so, 
lacking  only  some  part  of  the  decorative  staff  and  other 
minor  details.  Machinery  Hall  was  the  only  building  in  a 
backward  state,  but  this  was  so  far  behind  as  to  cause 
some  anxiety.  Its  skeleton  of  triple  arches  was  bare  and 
roofless,  and  the  rest  of  its  framework  was  being  assem- 
bled. The  Construction  Department  was  especially  active 
in  pushing  this  work. 

The  grounds  were  covered  with  a  network  of  tracks. 
From  the  great  switching  yards  in  the  southwest  corner 
they  spread  to  each  of  the  great  buildings  and  ran  into 
many  of  them.  Over  these  tracks  construction  material 
was  everywhere  moving,  and  by  them  exhibits  could  be 
transferred  quickly  from  the  yards  to  the  buildings  for 
which  they  were  intended,  and  placed  upon  or  adjacent 
to  their  several  points  of  installation. 

Scaffolding   enveloped   the   more   important   buildings, 

(179) 


l8o  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

and  great  masses  of  sculptured  groups  were  swinging  in 
the  air  on  their  way  to  adorn  the  Administration,  Agri- 
cultural, and  other  buildings.  The  grounds  were  every- 
where encumbered  with  heaps  of  timber,  staff,  earth,  road 
material,  debris;  but  even  the  debris  told  a  story  of  activity, 
for  it  changed  daily  and  hourly.  Parts  of  the  grounds  were 
cleared  again  and  again,  every  effort  being  made  to  keep 
them  free  from  incumbrance  and  to  facilitate  the  final 
clearing  up. 

The  landscape  was  assuming  something  of  its  promised 
beauty.  In  regions  where  the  architect  and  the  contractor 
had  finished  their  labors  grass  was  springing  up,  and  carpets 
of  turf  covered  dreary  wastes  of  yellow  sand.  The  Wooded 
Island,  surrounded  by  lagoons,  whose  only  building  was 
the  graceful  and  picturesque  Ho-o-den,  or  Phenix  Temple, 
of  the  Japanese,  had  given  the  landscape  artists  their 
coveted  opportunity.  Again  and  again  had  attempts  been 
made  to  secure  space  on  this  island  for  purposes  foreign 
to  its  design.  The  utmost  vigilance  had  been  required  to 
preserve  this  feature  of  the  landscape,  for  with  the  growth 
of  Exposition  plans  space  was  lacking  for  worthy  projects 
which  at  times  seemed  essential  to  the  completeness  of 
the  Exposition.  When  any  officer  was  baffled  in  his  attempt 
to  locate  his  favorite  project  elsewhere,  he  usually  concluded 
his  search  at  the  Wooded  Island  and  made  a  desperate 
attempt  to  secure  space  thereon.  Among  those  was  the 
Bureau  of  Public  Comfort,  which,  neglected  and  discouraged 
in  many  quarters,  thought  to  increase  its  efficiency  by  pro- 
viding for  the  weary  a  place  of  rest  on  the  island,  but 
found  itself  compelled  to  yield  to  the  artistic  necessities 
of  the  case. 

The  Electrical  Department  was  struggling  with  the  task 
of  installing  a  plant  and  stringing  wires  for  4,710  arc  lights 
and  93,040  incandescent  lights  of  sixteen  candle  power. 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         181 

The  wires  were  carried  in  subways  or  conduits,  in  some 
cases  large  enough  for  a  man  to  walk  in. 

The  Mechanical  Department  was  installing  seventy-seven 
engines,  aggregating  29,830  horse  power,  and  a  battery  of 
fifty-two  boilers  to  supply  steam  therefor.  All  of  these 
engines,  together  with  the  great  Worthington  pumps  to 
supply  water  for  the  fountains  of  the  Grand  Court  and 
for  the  fire  service,  were  furnished  for  the  use  of  the 
Exposition  as  exhibits,  free  of  cost  under  certain  conditions. 
The  boilers  also  were  supplied  as  exhibits,  but  a  charge 
of  $i  per  horse  power  was  made  for  their  use.  Contracts 
for  the  use  of  boilers,  engines,  and  machinery  were  being 
prepared  and  executed,  and  parts  of  the  plant  were  in 
process  of  construction  in  various  places,  but  little  had 
yet  arrived. 

The  Water  and  Sewerage  Department  was  pushing  for- 
ward its  plans  for  providing  an  adequate  water  supply, 
and  for  effectually  disposing  of  the  sewage  of  the  park 
when  it  should  admit  daily  a  concourse  of  300,000  people 
or  even  more.  These  matters  have  been  described  in 
Chapter  III. 

The  various  lines  of  activity  in  progress  at  this  time 
at  the  park  are  mentioned  for  the  purpose  of  according 
to  the  Committee  on  Grounds  and  Buildings,  and  to  the 
Construction  Department  which  it  organized,  something  of 
that  credit  due  them  as  the  originators  of  the  general 
plans  which  the  council  was  then  called  upon  to  adminis- 
ter and  bring  to  completion.  The  details  are  presented  in 
the  reports  of  the  director  of  works  and  of  his  chiefs. 
These  reports  have  been  prepared  at  great  expense,  and 
are  filed  with  the  records  of  your  company  for  reference 
in  the  future,  should  occasion  arise  for  a  detailed  investi- 
gation into  the  operations  which  were  conducted. 

The  complicated  details  of  the  dedicatory  ceremonies 


1 82  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

engrossed  much  of  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Adminis- 
tration, and  the  work  of  construction  claimed  constant 
attention.  The  volume  of  the  council's  business  grew  in 
a  few  days  to  be  enormous.  It  suddenly  found  itself  the 
arbiter  of  an  endless  array  of  disagreements  and  disputes 
over  construction  work,  such  as  might  be  expected  in  an 
enterprise  of  this  magnitude ;  disagreements  between  offi- 
cers, disagreements  over  contracts,  over  payments,  over  the 
installation  of  machinery,  boilers  and  appliances,  etc. 

There  was  no  budget  of  estimates  worthy  the  name, 
the  one  drawn  up  in  February,  1891,  having  been  entirely 
outgrown,  as  shown  in  Chapter  IV.  The  council  had  no 
power  to  spend  money  except  as  appropriated  by  the  Board 
of  Directors,  and  it  was  manifestly  impossible  to  await 
action  from  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  authoriza- 
tion of  new  expenditures  required  from  day  to  day.  The 
council  sought  to  remedy  this  difficulty  by  procuring  a  new 
and  complete  budget  of  estimates,  to  be  duly  approved  by 
the  Board  of  Directors,  with  authority  to  make  expendi- 
tures up  to  the  amounts  estimated.  As  has  been  shown, 
these  budgets  proved  defective,  and  from  time  to  time 
other  estimates  were  substituted,  each  showing  a  large 
increase  over  the  last. 

The  Administration  Building  was  partly  completed. 
Heating  apparatus  was  provided  for  a  portion  of  it,  and 
arrangements  were  made  for  warming  parts  of  some  of 
the  exhibit  buildings  to  accommodate  the  offices  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  several  exhibit  departments.  Some  of  the 
chiefs  moved  to  the  park  early  in  the  fall.  In  November 
the  director-general  took  up  his  quarters  in  Pavilion  B, 
the  northwest  pavilion  of  the  Administration  Building. 

The  council  opened  offices  in  the  Service  Building,  but 
continued  to  have  offices  also  in  the  Rand-McNally  Build- 
ing in  the  city,  meeting  during  the  winter  at  either  place 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         183 

as  the  necessities  of  the  work  required.  In  March,  1893, 
it  ceased  to  meet  in  the  city,  and  in  April  it  moved  to  its 
permanent  quarters  on  the  first  floor  of  Pavilion  B  of  the 
Administration  Building. 

Two  buildings  which  had  been  regarded  as  necessary 
had  not  yet  been  contracted  for  because  of  doubt  as  to 
the  financial  ability  of  the  company  to  complete  its  work. 
These  were  the  Festival  Hall  and  the  Anthropological 
Building.  The  Exposition  was,  however,  pledged  to  the 
erection  of  the  Festival  Hall,  to  provide  facilities  for  the 
large  choral  concerts  and  musical  festivals  that  were  being 
arranged  for  by  the  Bureau  of  Music.  Plans  for  this 
building  were  made  by  F.  M.  Whitehouse,  and  a  site  was 
assigned  to  it  on  the  west  side  of  the  park,  facing  the 
Wooded  Island,  between  the  Transportation  Exhibits  Build- 
ing and  the  Horticultural  Building.  It  was  built  at  a  cost 
of  $89,581.21,  and  was  capable  of  seating  5,200  people. 
This  building  was  of  a  sufficiently  high  grade  of  architec- 
ture to  be  in  harmony  with  the  best  portions  of  the  Expo- 
sition, and  for  economy  of  construction,  combined  with 
architectural  effect  and  adaptability  to  its  purpose,  was 
one  of  the  most  satisfactory  buildings  which  the  company 
constructed. 

The  Anthropological  Building  was  the  outgrowth  of  a 
movement  for  the  enlargement  of  the  space  for  educa- 
tional exhibits.  From  the  outset  the  management  had 
been  troubled  by  the  complaint  of  lack  of  space  in  its 
largest  building,  that  for  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts. 
This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  main  exhibits  of  most 
of  the  foreign  nations  were  concentrated  in  this  building, 
immense  spaces  being  assigned  to  these  nations,  leaving 
available  a  comparatively  small  space  for  the  exhibits  of 
the  manufactures  of  this  country  and  for  the  departments 
of  the  Liberal  Arts  and  of  Ethnology,  both  of  which 


1 84  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

were  here  to  be  installed.  In  this  arrangement  the  Liberal 
Arts  received  a  small  space  in  the  south  end  of  the  build- 
ing, with  space  in  the  galleries.  The  Department  of  Eth- 
nology had  also  been  assigned  to  the  galleries.  Then  the 
larger  foreign  nations  which  had  received  assignments  in 
the  central  part  of  the  ground  floor  demanded  the  gallery 
space  immediately  above,  and  these  demands  were  acceded 
to  in  the  interest  of  adequate  representation  from  those 
countries.  Then  came  an  organized  protest  from  the 
press  and  from  many  educational  associations  and  assem- 
blies throughout  the  country,  objecting  to  the  small  amount 
of  space  allowed  for  educational  exhibits,  and  demanding 
a  separate  building.  The  sympathies  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  were  entirely  with  this  movement,  but  there 
were  two  grave  obstacles,  the  lack  of  funds  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  finding  a  suitable,  prominent,  and  adequate  location 
for  an  Educational  Building.  The  only  spot  available 
was  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  grounds,  behind  the 
Agricultural  Building,  from  which  it  was  separated  by 
the  south  pond,  and  for  a  building  on  this  site  the  Board 
of  Directors  decided  that  it  could  safely  appropriate 
$100,000.  Then  the  decision  was  made  to  install  in  this 
building  the  archaeological  and  ethnological  material  of 
the  Exposition,  with  the  bureaus  of  Hygiene  and  of  Chari- 
ties and  Correction  and  the  Liberal  Arts.  This  left  to  the 
educational  exhibit  and  other  groups  of  the  Department 
of  the  Liberal  Arts  a  space  at  the  south  end  of  the 
Manufactures  Building  and  the  principal  part  of  its  gal- 
leries. Thus  the  educational  exhibit  finally  secured  space 
bordering  in  the  Court  of  Honor,  perhaps  the  most  favor- 
able position  in  the  park.  The  Anthropological  Building 
was  a  plain  and  unpretentious  structure,  the  chief  require- 
ment being  that  it  should  contain  the  amount  of  space 
necessary  for  the  adequate  display  of  the  material  col- 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         185 

lected,  and  the  council  succeeded  in  having  this  building 
constructed  at  a  cost  greatly  within  the  appropriation,  the 
amount  expended  being  $87,612.02.  Within  was  installed 
the  ethnological  material  which  the  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment had  collected  from  every  part  of  the  American  Con- 
tinent, at  a  cost  to  your  company  of  over  $100,000,  together 
with  similar  material  loaned  for  the  occasion  by  various 
institutions  of  this  and  other  countries,  the  whole  form- 
ing one  of  the  most  interesting  and  memorable  exhibits 
of  the  Exposition.  The  material  collected  at  the  expense 
of  your  company  was  finally  deposited  in  the  Field  Colum- 
bian Museum.  These  two  buildings  were  not  contracted 
for  until  the  fall,  and  construction  was  not  begun  until 
winter  had  set  in  and  snow  was  on  the  ground.  They 
were,  in  consequence,  seriously  delayed,  neither  of  them 
being  ready  for  use  until  some  time  after  the  first  of  May. 
After  the  dedication  had  occurred,  the  final  goal,  May  i, 
1893,  was  in  sight,  and  every  nerve  was  strained  in  the  effort 
to  reach  it  in  satisfactory  condition.  The  work  to  be  done 
was  enormous.  Doubts  as  to  the  possibility  of  completing 
the  Exposition  were  freely  expressed,  not  only  by  those  out- 
side of  the  organization  and  coming  in  contact  with  its  work 
only  as  spectators  and  critics,  but  by  many  of  those  identi- 
fied with  the  management.  The  great  organized  army, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  completing  the  Exposition,  was  sus- 
tained by  faith  and  the  indomitable  energy  of  the  officers  of 
the  several  departments.  The  director  of  works  seemed 
omnipresent.  No  hour  was  too  early,  no  weather  too  severe 
for  him  to  be  abroad,  inspecting  and  directing  the  progress 
of  the  work  and  urging  on  his  lieutenants.  It  was  his  custom 
to  drive  through  the  grounds  in  an  open  vehicle  at  daybreak 
or  earlier,  accompanied  by  his  secretary,  Montgomery  B. 
Pickett,  and  a  stenographer,  and  occasionally  by  one  or 
more  of  his  officers,  making  notes  and  informing  himself  as 


1 86  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

to  the  condition  of  the  work  in  every  part  of  the  grounds. 
When  the  enormous  space  to  be  covered  is  considered, 
the  labor  and  exertion  of  this  feat  can  be  appreciated. 
The  wonderful  physical  strength  of  the  director  of  works 
enabled  him  to  perform  this  exertion  without  apparent 
effort  or  detriment  to  his  health.  At  7  or  half -past  7  o'clock 
his  officers  held  a  "bureau  meeting,"  usually  presided  over 
by  the  assistant  director  of  works,  Ernest  R.  Graham,  at 
which  the  director  of  works  generally  assisted.  Officers 
were  enabled  to  secure  information,  prefer  complaints,  and 
make  requests,  and  minutes  were  kept  of  the  proceedings. 
It  was  possible  at  these  meetings  for  the  director  of  works 
to  urge  on  portions  of  the  work  which  were  behindhand, 
calling  to  account  any  one  who  appeared  to  be  delinquent, 
and  settling  every  complaint  by  prompt  and  vigorous  meas- 
ures. It  can  easily  be  seen  that  by  these  morning  inspec- 
tions and  bureau  meetings  a  vast  amount  of  actual  work 
could  be  planned  ready  for  execution  while  the  people  of 
Chicago  were  arising  from  bed  and  preparing  for  break- 
fast. It  is  no  wonder  that  the  efficiency  of  the  department 
was  so  great  as  to  render  easy  of  accomplishment  things 
which  would  ordinarily  be  thought  impossible  within  the 
time  allotted. 

Indeed,  the  situation  looked  serious,  even  to  those  who 
appreciated  the  energy  and  the  excellence  of  the  organiza- 
tion. The  dedication,  with  its  beautiful  weather  and  its 
many  triumphs,  revealed  a  glimpse  of  the  park  as  it  was 
expected  to  appear  later.  The  day  seemed  to  prefigure 
the  ultimate  success  and  to  indicate  that  it  was  within 
easy  reach.  Nothing  could  have  been  farther  from  the 
truth.  Winter  set  in  with  unusual  severity  and  manifold 
difficulties  appeared.  Thousands  of  cars,  containing  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  packages  of  exhibits  of  every  size 
and  weight,  were  expected  to  come  into  the  park  within 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         187 

the  next  few  months,  to  be  handled  and  installed  by  May 
i  st.  Few  of  them  were  arriving,  and  a  traffic  congestion 
later  seemed  unavoidable.  But  the  alarming  feature  was 
not  the  delay  in  the  arrival  of  exhibits  so  much  as  the 
fact,  now  too  evident,  that  the  buildings  were  in  no  condi- 
tion to  receive  them.  A  snowfall  succeeded  by  a  thaw 
revealed  acres  of  leaky  roofs,  insuring  the  irreparable 
damage  of  exhibits  placed  beneath  them.  The  most  seri- 
ous case  was  at  the  building  for  Manufactures  and  Liberal 
Arts,  both  on  account  of  the  vast  number  of  exhibits  which 
it  would  contain  and  the  great  difficulty  of  working  upon 
this  roof  during  cold  and  stormy  weather.  During  the 
winter  and  early  spring  an  effort  was  made  to  have  this 
roof  put  in  proper  condition  by  the  contractor  who  had 
undertaken  its  construction.  Finally  the  work  was  taken 
in  hand  by  the  Construction  Department,  which  put  hun- 
dreds of  roofers  upon  the  building,  and  for  the  second  or 
third  time  the  roof  was  repaired.  Ultimately  it  became 
fairly  satisfactory.  At  one  time  the  building  was  damaged 
by  avalanches  of  snow,  which  slid  from  the  great  curved 
central  roof  and  fell  into  the  valley  between  the  central 
hall  and  the  lateral  roofs.  The  falling  masses  of  snow  and 
ice  destroyed  the  lower  roof  and  in  some  instances  both 
the  gallery  floor  and  ground  floor  beneath. 

This  was  but  one  of  the  discouragements.  The  power 
plant,  which  was  expected  to  start  on  the  first  of  May, 
when  the  button  should  be  pressed  by  the  President  of 
the  Nation,  was  alarmingly  delayed.  The  boilers  were 
arriving  and  being  put  in  place,  but  the  engines  and 
machinery  came  very  slowly.  Further  than  this,  in  the 
Machinery  Hall,  where  the  power  plant  was  to  be  installed, 
the  condition  of  the  roof  was  little  better  than  that  of  the 
Manufactures  Building,  and  it  was  doubtful,  if  engines 
should  be  installed,  whether  they  could  be  preserved  from 


1 88  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

serious  damage.  The  leaky  roofs,  though  apparently  an 
evil  without  a  remedy,  in  time  ceased  to  give  annoyance. 
The  mechanical  engineer  sent  an  assistant,  John  Colley,  to 
visit  all  the  shops  where  parts  of  the  power  plant  were 
being  made,  to  report  progress  and  to  urge  manufactur- 
ers to  greater  haste.  He  found  the  work  much  delayed. 
Late  in  the  winter  the  situation  was  further  complicated 
by  the  resignation  of  the  mechanical  and  electrical  engi- 
neer, under  discouragement  at  the  difficulties  surrounding 
him.  Charles  F.  Foster,  who  succeeded  as  mechanical 
engineer,  inspired  confidence  and  hope  among  his  subordi- 
nates, and  labored  day  and  night  to  bring  the  work,  if  not 
to  a  completed  state,  at  least  to  such  a  condition  as  would 
reflect  no  discredit  upon  the  management  when  the  gates 
should  be  thrown  open  to  the  public.  This  he  accom- 
plished, but  only  with  heavy  outlays  of  money  and  by 
heroic  work  on  the  part  of  himself  and  his  assistants, 
directing  the  labors  of  a  large  body  of  men.  The  entire 
expenditure  charged  to  "  Power  Plant,"  "  Mechanical  Engi- 
neering," and  "  Mechanical  Implements  and  Tools,"  on 
account  of  construction,  was  over  $750,000,  and  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Exposition  purchased  no  engines  nor 
boilers  for  its  power  plant,  and  that  many  other  portions 
of  its  machinery  and  appliances  were  exhibits,  loaned  to 
the  company  at  little  or  no  expense.  Vast  outlays  were 
incurred  for  pipe,  fittings,  etc.,  not  included  in  the  budget, 
and  for  which  no  estimates  had  been  made.  The  mechan- 
ical engineer  found  no  time  for  making  estimates,  and 
could  not  count  cost  until  his  work  of  construction  was 
closed.  As  the  result  of  his  exertion,  the  power  plant 
was  in  fair  condition  on  May  ist.  The  great  2,000  horse 
power  engine,  furnished  by  E.  P.  Allis  &  Co.  of  Milwau- 
kee, Wis.,  moved  for  the  first  time  a  few  days  before  the 
opening.  This  engine  was  connected  by  wire  with  the 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         189 

key  upon  the  grand  stand  in  front  of  the  Administration 
Building,  and  was  actually  started  by  the  pressure  of  the 
key  by  President  Cleveland. 

Owing  to  delays  which  had  occurred  in  some  depart- 
ments, in  the  allotment  of  space,  and  the  inevitable  dis- 
satisfaction of  some  exhibitors  with  the  space  allotted  to 
them,  withdrawals  of  applications  for  space  became  fre- 
quent, and  much  alarm  was  felt  over  the  loss  of  exhibits 
for  various  causes.  Some  of  these  losses  were  irreparable 
and  were  greatly  deplored  by  the  management,  but  in 
most  cases  their  importance  was  exaggerated,  particularly  by 
the  newspapers  of  the  several  localities  in  which  the  resign- 
ing applicants  were  engaged  in  business.  Indeed,  the 
temper  of  the  press  Was  such  as  to  cause  many  misgivings, 
especially  as  the  management  was  naturally  sensitive  to 
criticism,  and  because  only  the  unfavorable  criticisms  came 
to  its  attention.  Doubtless  much  was  said  in  the  way  of 
praise  and  encouragement,  but  of  this  the  management 
seldom  heard.  Only  the  exaggerated  reports  and  false 
statements  came  to  its  ears. 

The  erroneous  statements  so  widely  circulated  seemed 
sufficiently  general  to  justify  the  fear  that  the  Exposition 
was  being  put  in  an  unfavorable  light  before  the  world, 
to  the  detriment  of  the  expected  patronage.  The  condition 
of  the  roofs  was  widely  published,  and  made  much  worse 
than  was  the  fact.  The  incomplete  condition  of  the  grounds 
and  buildings  was  noised  abroad,  coupled  with  the  asser- 
tion that  the  Exposition  would  not  be  ready  in  time,  an 
assertion  very  easy  to  make  and  very  hard  to  disprove. 
Criticisms  as  to  the  general  plan  and  the  details  of  the 
Exposition;  statements  that  great  discomfort  would  be 
experienced  in  viewing  it ;  that  the  grounds  were  full  of 
side  shows  and  special  attractions,  to  which  admission  fees 
would  be  charged,  each  being  part  of  a  general  plan  to 


1 90  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

defraud  the  public;  that  restaurant  prices  would  be  extor- 
tionate ;  that  hotels  and  boarding  houses  in  Chicago,  and 
in  fact  all  lines  of  trade,  were  waiting  for  a  chance  to 
practice  extortion  upon  visitors;  these  were  the  chief  items 
of  news  in  regard  to  the  Exposition  which  came  to  the 
attention  of  the  management,  and  which  it  was  bound  to 
counteract  and  disprove  by  every  means  in  its  power. 

The  following  address  to  the  public  was  issued  for  the 
purpose  of  meeting  some  of  the  criticisms  referred  to 
above : 

WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION, 

CHICAGO,  March  25,  1893. 
To  the  Public: 

Because  of  many  misrepresentations  and  misstatements  relative  to 
Exposition  management  and  affairs  being  in  circulation  through  the 
press  and  otherwise,  both  in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  in  reply  to 
many  letters  of  inquiry  or  complaint  touching  the  same  matters,  it 
seems  advisable  that  some  official  statement  regarding  them  should  be 
made  to  the  public.  Therefore  I  respectfully  ask  that  the  widest  pub- 
licity be  given  to  the  following  facts: 

1.  The  Exposition  will  be  opened  in  readiness  for  visitors  May  ist. 

2.  An  abundance  of  drinking  water,  the  best  supplied  in  any  great 
city  in  the  world,  will  be  provided  free  to  all.    The  report  that  a  charge 
will  be  made  for  drinking  water  probably  arose  from  the  fact  that 
Hygeia  water  can  also  be  had  by  those  who  may  desire  it  at  i  cent  a 
glass. 

3.  Ample  provisions  for  seating  will  be  made  without  charge, 

4.  About  1,500  toilet  rooms  and  closets  will  be  located  at  convenient 
points  in  the  buildings  about  the  grounds,  and  they  will  be  absolutely 
free  to  the  public.    This  is  as  large  a  number  in  proportion  to  the  esti- 
mated attendance  as  has  ever  been  provided  in  any  Exposition.    In 
addition  to  these  there  will  also  be  an  equal  number  of  lavatories  and 
toilet  rooms  of  a  costly  and  handsome  character,  as  exhibits,  for  the  use 
of  which  a  charge  of  5  cents  will  be  made. 

5.  The  admission  fee  of  50  cents  will  entitle  the  visitor  to  see  and 
enter  all  the  Exposition  buildings,  inspect  the  exhibits  and,  in  short, 
to  see  everything  within  the  Exposition  grounds  except  the  Eskimo 
Village  and  the  reproduction  of  the  Cliff  Dwelling.    For  these,  as  well 
as  for  the  special  attractions  of  Midway  Plaisance,  a  small  fee  will  be 
charged. 

6.  Imposition  or  extortion  of  any  description  will  not  be  tolerated. 

7.  Free  medical  and  emergency  hospital  services  are  provided  on 
the  grounds  by  the  Exposition  management. 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         191 

8.  The  Bureau  of  Public  Comfort  will  provide  commodious  free 
waiting  rooms,  including  spacious  ladies'  parlors  and  toilet  rooms,  in 
various  parts  of  the  grounds. 

H.  N.  HIGINBOTHAM,  President. 

As  the  spring  opened  a  thin  stream  of  exhibits  began  to 
flow  into  the  park,  by  wagon  loads  from  the  city,  and  by  car 
loads  from  the  various  railroads.  In  March  the  stream 
swelled  to  considerable  proportions,  and  in  April  it  became  a 
torrent  and  almost  caused  a  blockade.  The  Department 
of  Transportation  was  charged  with  the  handling  of  exhibits 
from  railroad  cars  to  points  of  installation.  The  cars  were 
received  in  the  great  switching  yards  prepared  by  the  Expo- 
sition in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  park.  At  this  point 
they  were  taken  charge  of  by  the  Department  of  Trans- 
portation and  shifted  to  points  convenient  for  unloading,  the 
entire  matter  of  their  reception,  shifting,  and  unloading 
being  subject  to  rules  and  regulations  provided  for  the 
guidance  of  this  department  and  the  various  departments 
under  the  director-general.  Cars  were  taken  into  the 
grounds  and  shifted  to  points  adjacent  to,  and  in  some 
cases  within,  the  buildings,  where  they  were  unloaded  by 
hand  or  by  means  of  traveling  steam  cranes.  An  electric 
transfer  table  was  used  in  the  Building  of  Transportation 
Exhibits,  and  in  Machinery  Hall  three  electric  cranes  which 
traveled  overhead  the  entire  length  of  the  building.  In 
these  buildings  the  exhibits  installed  were  of  the  heaviest 
character. 

The  rules  required  that  freight  charges  upon  exhibits 
be  prepaid  from  points  of  shipment,  plus  an  additional 
charge  of  6  cents  per  hundredweight  to  cover  the  cost 
of  receiving,  shifting,  and  unloading  at  the  Exposition 
grounds.  Whenever  a  shipment  came  through  to  Jackson 
Park  with  charges  due  upon  it,  the  joint  agent,  who  repre- 
sented all  the  railroads  doing  business  at  the  park,  collected 
the  proper  charges,  making  return  to  the  railroads  inter- 


REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

ested  and  to  your  company.  As  the  spring  advanced,  it 
was  found  that  the  macadam  roads  which  were  just  being 
completed  were  liable  to  be  cut  up  and  destroyed  by  the 
heavy  teaming,  as  they  were  suitable  only  for  pedestrians 
and  light  traffic.  Therefore  a  rule  was  adopted  prohibit- 
ing the  admission  of  vehicles  not  equipped  with  broad 
tires,  a  three-inch  tire  being  required  for  a  one-horse 
vehicle,  and  a  four-inch  tire  for  vehicles  drawn  by  two 
or  more  horses. 

The  rules  of  the  Exposition,  which  were  printed  upon 
the  blank  forms  used  by  exhibitors  in  making  application 
for  space,  required  that  all  exhibits  be  delivered  at  Jackson 
Park  by  April  15,  1893.  The  rule  became  ineffective  be- 
cause of  the  natural  tendency  to  delays  in  the  shipment 
of  exhibits,  the  unfavorable  weather  experienced  at  the 
time,  and  the  delays  in  the  completion  of  the  Exposition 
grounds  and  buildings. 

The  movements  of  exhibits  into  the  park  was  as  follows: 


Car  Loads. 

Packages. 

Tons,  Net. 

By   railroad                 . 

7,900 

332,467 

60,509 

By   wagon 

66  292 

12  192 

Totals  

7,900 

398,759 

72,701 

Of  the  many  exhibits  brought  into  the  park  by  teams 
other  than  those  belonging  to  the  Exposition,  no  account 
was  kept,  and  therefore  the  total  volume  of  exhibits  han- 
dled is  considerably  above  these  figures.  The  work  of 
handling  exhibits  was  extremely  arduous.  The  movement 
was  delayed  until  the  last  moment,  and  then  the  exhibits 
came  so  rapidly  as  to  tax  the  energies  of  the  department 
to  the  utmost  to  prevent  congestion  of  traffic. 

Mr.  Holcomb,  the  general  manager  of  transportation,  is 
of  the  opinion  that  it  is  not  possible  to  handle  the  exhib- 
its of  a  great  exposition  and  deliver  them  to  exhibitors  at 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         193 

points  of  installation,  at  the  rate  of  6  cents  a  hundred- 
weight, without  loss.  The  task  requires  a  large  organ- 
ization, of  a  temporary  character,  working  rapidly,  and 
without  opportunity  to  acquire  experience  in  expeditious 
and  economical  methods.  The  exhibits  are  of  a  miscel- 
laneous character,  presenting  every  possible  phase  of  diffi- 
culty in  handling,  and  the  necessity  for  the  utmost  dispatch 
is  such  as  to  leave  no  opportunity  for  the  study  of  details 
with  a  view  to  avoiding  waste  and  loss  of  energy.  (See 
report  of  general  manager  of  transportation,  attached  to 
report  of  the  director  of  works  at  Field  Columbian  Musuem.) 
Another  duty  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Transpor- 
tation was  the  care  of  empty  packing  cases,  which  were 
received  from  exhibitors,  removed  to  warehouses  provided 
for  that  purpose  at  the  south  end  of  the  grounds,  and 
restored  to  exhibitors  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition.  A 
charge  of  4%  cents  per  cubic  foot  was  made  for  this  ser- 
vice, which  charge,  it  was  found,  did  not  quite  cover  the 
cost  of  warehouses  and  the  expense  of  handling.  One  mil- 
lion seven  hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand  and  sixty-four 
cubic  feet  of  packing  cases  were  stored  for  exhibitors 
during  the  Exposition,  representing  59,376  cases,  only  4,259 
of  which  were  unclaimed.  Storage  charges  were  not  col- 
lected promptly,  for  a  variety  of  causes,  among  them  mis- 
understandings between  the  exhibitors  and  the  manage- 
ment during  the  early  part  of  the  Exposition.  At  the 
close  some  congestion  occurred,  as  each  exhibitor  wished  to 
pay  up  and  secure  his  cases  first. 

THE   CUSTOM   HOUSE. 

The  Exposition  received  exhibits  from  sixty  foreign 
nations,  States,  and  colonies.  These  exhibits  consisted  of 
162,629  packages,  valued  in  the  statements  of  the  exhibitors  at 
$14,797,693,  and  required  about  8,000  cars  to  transport  them. 

13 


194  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  collector  of  customs,  John  M.  Clark,  estimates  that 
about  25  per  cent  of  these  exhibits  remained  in  the  United 
States  and  that  the  rest  were  returned  to  the  countries 
from  which  they  came. 

From  the  figures  just  given,  the  reader  can  form  some 
idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  transactions  caused  by  the 
Exposition  in  the  office  of  the  collector  of  customs.  The  Act 
of  Congress  authorizing  the  Exposition  provided  that  all 
articles  imported  from  foreign  countries  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  exhibition  would  be  admitted  free  of  duty,  customs  fees, 
or  charges,  under  such  regulations  as  might  be  prescribed  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  that  such  goods,  entered  for 
exhibition,  might  be  sold  for  delivery  at  the  close  of  the 
Exposition,  subject  to  regulations  to  be  prescribed  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  collection  of  duties 
thereon.  Under  this  provision  of  the  Act  of  Congress  and 
the  regulations  of  the  Treasury  Department,  the  Exposition 
grounds  and  buildings  became,  in  effect,  a  bonded  ware- 
house under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  United 
States  Treasury.  The  labor  and  responsibility  thrown  upon 
Collector  Clark,  to  carry  into  effect  the  purposes  of  the 
Act,  and,  at  the  same  time,  avoid  unnecessary  interference 
with  the  work  of  the  Exposition  and  of  its  exhibitors,  was 
indeed  very  great. 

A  branch  office  was  opened  at  Jackson  Park  and  the 
customs  business  of  the  Exposition  was  kept  entirely  sepa- 
rate and  distinct  from  the  regular  business  of  the  port. 
Foreign  exhibitors  were  not  required  to  furnish  the  sworn 
consular  invoices  required  of  other  importers.  Instead  of 
this  they  prepared,  in  duplicate,  a  statement  in  the  form 
of  an  invoice,  showing  the  marks  and  number  of  packages, 
description  of  contents,  and  declaration  of  quantity  and 
market  value.  This  statement,  when  signed  by  an  exhib- 
itor, required  no  further  verification.  One  copy  of  it  was 


LA ST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTR  UCTION,  ETC.          i  95 

transmitted  by  mail  to  the  collector  of  customs  at  Chicago. 
Goods  imported  for  exhibition  were  sent  direct  to  Chicago. 
On  arrival,  no  entry  was  required  and  no  bond  was  exacted 
from  the  exhibitor.  As  soon  as  the  goods  were  accepted 
by  the  director-general,  as  exhibits,  they  were  transferred 
directly  from  the  car  in  which  they  came  to  the  space 
assigned  them.  The  boxes  were  opened  in  the  presence 
of  a  customs  officer,  who  identified  the  contents,  with  the 
invoice  and  memoranda  for  his  guidance  in  the  future 
supervision  of  the  exhibit.  As  nearly  all  this  great  quan- 
tity of  material  arrived  during  the  few  weeks  preceding  May 
i,  1893,  it  will  easily  be  perceived  that  great  skill,  tact, 
and  administrative  ability  were  necessary  to  prevent  con- 
fusion and  insure  the  prompt  and  satisfactory  handling  of 
the  details  of  the  work  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  of  the  foreign  exhibitor.  The  demands  upon 
the  collector's  office  were  even  -greater  when  the  close 
of  the  Exposition  arrived  and  goods  were  being  removed 
from  the  grounds,  either  to  be  reexported  or  regularly 
entered  for  consumption  in  this  country.  Many  exhib- 
itors were  in  a  great  hurry  to  clear  their  goods  and  take 
them  from  the  grounds  and  were  impatient  of  any  delay. 
To  handle  their  matters  quickly,  and  at  the  same  time 
comply  with  necessary  formalities,  required  all  the  energy 
and  skill  of  Collector  Clark,  the  deputy  collector  in  charge, 
A.  W.  Hall,  and  the  numerous  officers  and  employes.  Forty 
thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  packages,  valued 
at  $12,154,550,  were  reexported;  9,829  packages,  valued  at 
$1,552,230,  were  acquired  by  various  universities,  colleges, 
schools,  museums,  etc.;  5,488  packages,  valued  at  $68,015, 
were  distributed  free  as  samples  and  as  matter  of  inter- 
national courtesy;  1,939  packages,  valued  at  $58,290,  were 
destroyed  or  consumed  in  process  of  exhibition.  The  goods 
entered  for  consumption,  which  remained  in  this  country, 


196  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

were  valued  at  $2,566,852,  upon  which  a  total  net  duty  of 
$717,320.34  was  collected.  The  total  net  receipts  of  the 
Exposition  customs  office  amounted  to  $836,786.85.  The 
expenditures  were  $234,684.54.  The  excess  of  receipts  over 
expenditures  was  $602,152.31.  The  force  employed  by  the 
collector  of  customs  was  recruited  under  the  United  States 
civil  service  rules,  the  new  employes  being  sent,  tempo- 
rarily, to  the  main  office  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  so  as  to 
enable  the  collector  to  send  to  the  Exposition  customs 
office  men  already  trained  to  the  work. 

The  collector  of  customs  suggests  that  the  work  of 
receiving  and  removing  exhibits  would  have  been  facili- 
tated and  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  exhibitors 
increased,  if  the  Exposition  company  had  organized  a  com- 
petent force  of  clerks  to  assist  exhibitors  in  this  work. 
A  force  of  ten  special  agents  was  detailed  by  the  Treasury 
Department  for  work  in  connection  with  the  Exposition 
office,  and  rendered  valuable  service  in  securing  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  rules  and  regulations  and  detecting  attempts 
at  their  violation.  Some  seizures  and  arrests  were  made 
in  consequence  of  violations  of  the  rules,  and  this  had  the 
effect  of  discouraging  attempts  in  that  direction. 

For  some  time  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Expo- 
sition, cholera  had  been  raging  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
and  much  uneasiness  was  felt  lest  it  should  appear  in  this 
country.  Some  fear  was  expressed  that  it  might  be  intro- 
duced by  reason  of  the  holding  of  the  Exposition.  The 
collector,  therefore,  arranged  with  Dr.  John  B.  Hamilton 
of  the  United  States  Revenue  Marine  Hospital  Service, 
to  have  packages  in  which  there  might  be  a  suspicion  of 
danger,  thoroughly  inspected  by  a  surgeon  from  the  hos- 
pital. As  a  precaution,  the  wrappings  of  packages  were 
destroyed  in  some  cases,  when,  in  the  opinion  of  the  sur- 
geon, this  was  desirable.  This  inspection  was  carefully 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         197 

maintained  during  the  entire  time  when  exhibits  were  being 
received. 

The  administration  of  customs  at  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  was  the  subject  of  a  carefully  prepared 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  by  Collector  John 
M.  Clark.  This  report,  which  gives  full  statistical  informa- 
tion, was  ordered  printed  by  the  House  of  Representatives. 
(Ex.  Doc.  No.  165,  Fifty- third  Congress,  Second  Session.) 

The  spring  was  even  more  trying  than  the  winter,  cold 
and  stormy,  with  severe  snows  and  much  rain.  Late  in 
April  a  heavy  storm  occurred,  which  blew  down  staff  work 
in  various  parts  of  the  grounds,  and  at  one  time  the 
report  spread  that  the  Peristyle  had  been  destroyed.  This 
storm  was  accompanied  by  a  heavy  rain.  The  Manufac- 
tures Building  was  flooded  in  several  places,  and  several 
hundred  guards  were  kept  busy  during  the  night  covering 
exhibits  with  tarpaulins,  shifting  boxes,  and  preventing 
damage  where  possible.  It  was  not  easy  to  find  good 
workmen  who  would  venture  upon  the  roof  of  Manufac- 
tures Building,  and  who  could  work  to  advantage  during 
the  weather  experienced  in  April,  but  by  May  ist  the  roofs 
were  in  much  better  condition. 

During  the  winter  it  became  evident  that  the  Service 
Building  was  not  large  enough  for  its  purposes.  This  was 
a  building  306  feet  long  by  164  feet  wide,  two  stories  in 
height,  with  a  central  court,  and  contained  quarters  for 
the  Medical  Department,  the  Emergency  Hospital,  head- 
quarters and  barracks  for  a  portion  of  the  guard,  the 
general  offices  o'f  the  Department  of  Works,  sleeping  rooms 
for  its  principal  officers,  who  were  constantly  upon  the 
grounds,  and  a  small  mess  room  for  these  officers,  and  also 
for  the  nurses  detailed  for  duty  in  connection  with  the 
Emergency  Hospital. 

Accommodations  were  needed  for  the  departments  of 


198  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Collections  and  Admissions  and  for  the  offices  of  the 
auditor  and  treasurer,  each  of  whom  required  a  large 
amount  of  office  room  to  accommodate  their  forces.  The 
auditor's  office  had  been  for  some  time  located  in  the 
Service  Building.  The  treasurer  was  still  at  the  Rand- 
McNally  Building,  and  the  departments  of  Admissions  and 
Collections  were  not  fully  organized.  Plans  were  hastily 
made  for  an  office  building  234  feet  long  from  north  to 
south  by  70  feet  wide,  two  stories  in  height,  and  contain- 
ing brick  vaults  in  the  center.  It  was  located  just  north 
of  the  Service  Building  and  west  of  the  Horticultural 
Building.  The  offices  of  the  auditor  and  treasurer  and  of 
the  Department  of  Collections  were  upon  the  first  floor, 
and  the  Department  of  Admissions  upon  the  second  floor; 
space  was  set  apart  upon  the  second  floor  for  sleeping 
accommodations  for  a  part  of  the  force  of  these  four 
departments,  who  would  frequently  be  required  to  -work 
late  into  the  night.  The  Department  of  Works  made  its 
record  for  rapid  work  upon  this  building.  It  was  known 
as  the  Accounting  Building,  and  was  constructed  in  about 
five  weeks,  at  a  cost  of  $36,199.51. 

The  Exposition  property  was  never  properly  covered  by 
insurance.  The  risks  were  considered  extra  hazardous  and 
companies  were  unwilling  to  write  policies.  Sufficient  con- 
sideration was  not  given  to  the  extraordinary  precautions 
taken  to  prevent  fires  and  to  the  facilities  provided  for 
quenching  any  which  did  occur.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  while 
small  fires  were  frequent  in  the  park,  and  several  large  fires 
occurred  just  outside  the  inclosure,  there  was  never  any 
serious  damage  by  fire  to  any  of  the  company's  property 
within  Jackson  Park.  Only  one  bad  fire  occurred  during  the 
Exposition  season,  that  which  destroyed  the  Cold  Storage 
warehouse.  This  building  was  erected  under  a  concession 
contract  and  was  not  the  property  of  your  company. 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC.         199 

During  the  construction  period  insurance  was  written 
through  a  committee  of  insurance  agents  who  endeavored  to 
distribute  the  risk  among  the  companies  doing  business  in 
Chicago,  or  who  could  be  induced  to  write.  While  exhibits 
were  arriving  the  companies  began  to  cancel  policies  upon 
buildings  and  write  up  to  their  maxima  upon  exhibits,  leav- 
ing the  Exposition  company  unprotected.  Thus  the  amount 
of  insurance  upon  buildings  was  constantly  shrinking,  until 
your  president,  in  whose  discretion  the  matter  had  been  left, 
finding  that  a  considerable  amount  was  being  expended  for 
premiums  without  adequate  or  even  partial  protection  to 
the  company,  canceled  all  remaining  insurance.  The  man- 
agement thereafter  intensified  its  effort  to  protect  its 
property  from  fire  so  thoroughly  as  to  render  loss  from  this 
source  a  practical  impossibility.  A  brief  description  of  the 
Fire  Department  will  be  found  in  Chapter  XII,  but  for  a 
full  account  reference  must  be  had  to  the  report  of  its 
chief,  which  is  attached  to  the  report  of  the  director  of 
works. 

For  the  works  of  art  loaned  to  the  Exposition,  forming 
the  loan  collection  of  the  American  section  in  the  Art  Build- 
ing, the  owners  required  insurance  to  protect  them  against 
loss,  and  the  Exposition  was  in  no  position  to  meet  their 
demands.  Companies  wrote  insurance  as  a  favor  on  exhibits 
belonging  to  their  regular  customers,  but  the  Exposition 
could  not  secure  satisfactory  insurance  upon  material  or 
buildings.  The  Art  Building  was  constructed  chiefly  of 
brick  and  steel,  with  exterior  covering  of  staff,  and  was  prac- 
tically fireproof.  The  estimated  value  put  upon  the  loan 
collection  of  works  of  art  aggregated  about  $3,000,000;  the 
value  in  most  cases  being  fixed  at  the  amount  paid  for  the 
work  itself  by  the  owner,  without  allowance  for  any  possible 
appreciation  which  might  have  occurred  after  the  purchase. 
Finally,  the  Board  of  Directors  authorized  the  execution  of 


200  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

contracts,  in  the  nature  of  insurance  policies,  whereby  the 
Exposition  became  responsible  for  these  exhibits  as  an 
insurer,  the  value  of  the  various  works  being  fixed  before 
their  shipment  and  contracts  being  delivered  to  the  owners 
thereof.  The  profits  which  the  Exposition  expected  to 
realize  over  and  above  its  bonded  and  floating  debt  and 
operating  expenses  were  estimated  at  enough  to  meet  any 
possible  losses  by  injury  to  exhibits  in  the  loan  collection. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  surplus  over  and  above  fixed  charges 
and  operating  expenses  did  not  prove  large  enough  to  have 
more  than  half  paid  the  values  named  in  these  guarantees 
had  a  total  loss  occurred,  for  the  financial  panic  which  started 
just  as  the  Exposition  opened  had  the  effect  of  diminishing 
the  company's  receipts,  while  the  expenditures  proved  to  be 
much  greater  than  was  indicated  even  by  the  estimates 
of  March,  1893.  Fortunately  no  loss  occurred,  and  no  dam- 
age beyond  one  or  two  trifling  matters,  easily  repaired  at  an 
expense  of  a  few  hundred  dollars.  This  fortunate  result 
must  be  attributed  to  the  watchful  care  of  the  chief  of  the 
Department  of  Fine  Arts,  Halsey  C.  Ives,  and  of  his  assistants, 
and  the  vigilance  of  the  guard  and  fire  departments,  both  of 
which  were  strictly  and  repeatedly  enjoined  to  use  the 
greatest  diligence  and  every  precaution  that  could  be  devised 
for  protecting  the  precious  contents  of  the  Art  Building. 
In  two  cases  the  owners  declined  to  accept  the  Exposition's 
guarantees.  Rather  than  suffer  any  impairment  of  the  col- 
lection, of  which  great  things  were  expected,  your  president 
offered  his  own  personal  guarantee  to  be  used  by  the  chief 
of  the  department  to  cover  these  and  any  similar  cases  which 
might  arise.  Mr.  Ives  refused  to  use  this  guarantee,  pre- 
ferring to  try  to  persuade  owners  of  works  of  art  to  mod- 
erate their  demands  or  else  to  decline  the  pictures. 

Last  of  all  the  great  barriers  which  had  to  be  overcome 
in  the    progress   toward    the   opening  of    the    Exposition 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTR  UCTION,  ETC.          2OI 

was  a  strike,  which  occurred  less  than  thirty  days  before 
the  first  of  May.  At  this  time  at  least  10,000  men  were 
constantly  employed  in  Jackson  Park,  a  majority  of  them 
being  members  of  labor  organizations  more  or  less  closely 
affiliated.  More  than  two  years  before,  the  company  had 
been  confronted  with  a  demand  that  it  employ  none  but 
union  men,  that  it  agree  to  arbitrate  all  disputes  with  the 
workmen,  that  it  fix  a  minimum  rate  of  wages,  and  that 
it  agree  that  eight  hours  should  constitute  a  day's  work. 
The  company  had  declined  to  fix  a  minimum  rate  of  wages 
or  to  employ  none  but  union  men.  It  had  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  officers  of  the  Building  Trades  Council 
that  eight  hours  should  constitute  a  day's  work,  and  that  all 
differences  should  be  settled  by  arbitration.  The  officers 
of  the  trades  council  at  the  same  time  agreed  that  their 
trades  unions  would  not  engage  in  strikes,  but  should 
submit  to  awards  given  after  fair  arbitration.  All  work  in 
excess  of  eight  hours  a  day  was  to  be  paid  for  at  the  rate 
of  "time  and  a  half"  on  working  days  and  "double  time" 
on  Sundays.  Pursuant  to  this  agreement  the  chief  of  con- 
struction had  made  every  effort  to  enforce  the  eight-hour 
agreement. 

He  had  been  specifically  instructed  on  this  point  by  the 
Board  of  Directors.  The  eight-hour  rule  had  prevailed  in 
all  work  conducted  directly  by  the  Construction  Depart- 
ment, and  was  made  a  part  of  every  contract  entered  into, 
but  your  company  could  not  in  all  cases  compel  contractors 
to  adhere  to  the  agreement.  Indeed,  under  the  laws  of  the 
State,  eight  hours  constitute  a  day's  work,  and  where  the 
law  could  not  be  made  effective,  naturally  little  could  be 
hoped  for  from  any  contract  which  this  company  might 
enter  into  in  its  haste  to  complete  the  great  work.  No 
fault  could  justly  be  found  with  your  company,  nor  could 
the  sincerity  of  its  efforts  to  carry  out  this  agreement  be 


202  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

fairly  questioned.  On  the  other  hand,  the  agreement  not 
to  strike  without  notice,  and  to  submit  disputes  to  arbitra- 
tion, was  often  violated  by  the  unions,  and  finally,  in  April, 
1893,  a  formal  demand  was  made  upon  the  Exposition  by 
the  Carpenters  and  Builders  Association  and  the  United 
Carpenters  Council  to  subscribe  to  an  agreement  which 
had  been  entered  into  between  these  two  bodies,  the  prin- 
cipal provisions  of  which  were : 

First.  That  said  unions  might  call  out  all  of  their 
members  "in  case  of  a  sympathetic  strike  of  other  trades 
on  any  job  where  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  parties  to 
this  agreement  to  take  part,  to  protect  the  union  principles 
herein  laid  down." 

Second.  That  a  joint  committee  composed  of  five  mem- 
bers of  each  of  the  said  two  bodies  (the  Builders  Associa- 
tion and  the  Carpenters  Council)  should  have  power  to 
"establish  a  minimum  rate  of  wages,  and  adjust  all  ques- 
tions of  interest  to  the  respective  associations." 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  agreement  named  40  cents 
per  hour  as  a  minimum  rate  of  wages  until  altered  by  the 
joint  committee  above  referred  to,  overtime  to  be  at  the 
rate  of  time  and  a  half.  It  prohibited  overtime  work 
unless  life  or  property  were  in  danger,  and  prohibited 
members  of  the  Carpenters  and  Builders  Association  from 
hiring  other  than  union  carpenters,  and  members  of  the 
United  Carpenters  Council  from  working  for  any  one  not 
a  member  of  the  Carpenters  and  Builders  Association. 

This  agreement  was,  in  form,  a  contract  between  these 
two  unions,  the  one  composed  of  working  carpenters  and 
the  other  of  employing  carpenters,  builders,  or  "bosses." 
The  chief  significance  of  the  agreement  lay  in  the  attempt 
to  have  the  same  indorsed  and  subscribed  to  by  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Exposition  company,  which  would  have  resulted 
in  the  fixing  of  a  minimum  scale  of  wages,  prohibiting  the 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTR  UCTION,  ETC,  203 

employment  of  non-union  men,  and  instead  of  an  arbitra- 
tion of  both  the  principals  in  interest,  would  have  bound 
the  Exposition  to  any  award  which  the  joint  committee  of 
these  two  affiliated  orders  might  determine  upon. 

The  minimum  rate  named  was  not  a  matter  of  much 
practical  interest,  as  at  the  time  the  demand  for  skilled 
labor  was  very  great  and  higher  wages  was  the  rule.  In 
view,  however,  of  the  agreement  of  two  years  before  and 
of  the  principle  involved,  the  Council  of  Administration 
felt  bound  to  refuse  acquiescence  in  this  or  the  other 
demands  implied  in  the  new  agreement.  These  demands 
had  doubtless  been  made  without  the  concurrence  or  the 
desire  of  the  great  body  of  intelligent  workmen  who  made 
up  the  unions.  It  must  have  been  the  thought  of  leading 
officers  of  the  unions  that  with  a  great  amount  of  work 
still  to  be  accomplished  upon  the  Exposition  grounds, 
no  demand  at  this  time  was  too  great  to  be  made  with 
safety,  and  that  the  Council  of  Administration  could  be 
forced  to  yield  in  order  that  it  might  fulfill  its  task  with 
credit. 

It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  thought  possible  that 
the  management  would  refuse  to  acquiesce  in  the  demands, 
and  take  the  alternative  of  allowing  the  date  for  the  open- 
ing of  the  Exposition  to  approach  with  the  grounds  in 
an  incomplete  condition,  but  this  the  Council  of  Adminis- 
tration decided  to  do.  It  was  learned  on  Sunday,  April 
9th,  that  the  strike  would  be  inaugurated  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  and  members  of  the  council  were  urged 
to  call  in  some  one  who  had  been  prominent  in  resist- 
ing previous  strikes  to  take  charge  of  this  one,  with 
the  powers  of  a  dictator.  The  council,  however,  after 
considering  the  situation  thoroughly,  decided  that  with  firm 
and  cautious  action  it  would  be  able  to  cope  with  the 
threatening  disaster.  Monday  morning  came.  Instead  of 


204  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

thousands  of  busy  hands  there  was  silence  and  gathering 
crowds  of  idle  men,  with  the  consequent  danger  of  vio- 
lence, particularly  to  non-union  men  who  might  be  found 
at  work.  Early  in  the  morning  the  representatives  of  the 
striking  trades  unions  entered  into  a  conference  with  the 
Council  of  Administration,  and  this  conference  lasted  with- 
out interruption  until  10  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  coun- 
cil steadily  refusing  to  subscribe  to  the  agreement  presented 
to  it  by  the  unions  or  to  concede  the  demand  for  the  exclu- 
sion of  non-union  labor.  Appeals  were  made  to  the  better 
judgment  and  to  the  sense  of  justice  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  unions.  These  appeals  were  reinforced  by 
every  possible  argument,  and  the  entire  situation  was  gone 
into  to  its  minutest  details.  The  representatives  of  the 
unions  were  informed  that  the  council  would  immediately 
publish  to  the  world  a  statement  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  had  acted  and  would  allow  the  Exposition 
to  be  opened  in  its  unfinished  state,  and  that,  therefore, 
the  unions  must  prepare  to  have  their  acts  submitted  to 
the  closest  scrutiny  of  public  opinion.  The  council  urged 
that  the  conference  then  in  progress  must  continue  until  a 
final  decision  was  reached,  either  that  the  men  might  go  to 
work  as  usual  on  Tuesday  morning  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  Exposition  must  be  opened  in  an  incomplete 
state,  leaving  the  public  to  fix  the  blame  therefor.  This 
proposition  the  labor  leaders  did  not  relish,  knowing,  as 
they  did,  that  the  Exposition  was  as  dear  to  the  laboring 
men  of  Chicago,  union  or  otherwise,  as  it  was  to  any  other 
portion  of  the  community.  The  injustice  of  the  demands 
upon  the  council  would  certainly  have  brought  protests 
from  the  members  of  the  labor  organizations,  and  the 
leaders  would  have  found  their  support  growing  weaker 
within  a  few  days.  None  of  the  council  and  few  of  the 
labor  leaders  left  the  room  where  this  conference  was  held 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTR UCTION,  ETC.          205 

from  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  10  o'clock  at  night,  and 
they  scarcely  partook  of  food. 

Finally  the  labor  leaders  withdrew  their  demands.  The 
council  promised  them  that  union  labor  should  be  entitled 
to  equal  consideration  with  non-union  labor;  that  workmen 
who  had  struck  would  be  received  back  without  prejudice; 
and  that  the  Exposition  would  pay  to  every  artisan 
employed  by  it  "  at  least  the  minimum  rate  of  wages  pre- 
scribed for  the  trade  in  which  he  is  employed."  Passes 
were  to  be  issued  to  representatives  of  the  trades  to  enable 
them  to  enter  the  grounds  and  confer  with  the  workmen 
of  their  respective  trades  at  all  times,  provided  such  con- 
ferences should  not  materially  interfere  with  work.  This 
agreement  was  made  with  a  clear  understanding  that  it 
was  a  full  settlement  of  the  whole  matter  in  controversy, 
and  that  the  striking  men  would  return  to  work  at  once. 

Thus  a  most  threatening  and  serious  strike  was  averted. 
Had  it  continued,  the  firm  resolve  of  the  Council  of  Adminis- 
tration would  have  been  carried  into  effect  and  the  Exposi- 
tion would  have  been  opened  in  a  far  less  satisfactory 
condition  than  was  actually  the  case. 

I  have  now  briefly  sketched  the  principal  operations  of 
your  company  to  May  i,  1893.  The  sketch  has  necessarily 
been  fragmentary  in  many  particulars  and  especially  as  to 
the  operations  of  the  Construction  Department  and  the 
Department  of  Works,  many  branches  of  which  have  been 
dismissed  with  a  few  words,  while  others  have  not  been 
mentioned  at  all. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  chief  officers  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Works  whose  reports  will  be  found  attached  to 
that  of  the  Department  of  Works  in  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum: 

J.  W.  Alvord,  engineer  of  surveys  and  grades. 
R.  Ulrich,  superintendent  of  landscape  work. 


206  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Edward  C.  Shankland,  chief  engineer. 

W.  S.  MacHarg,  engineer  of  water  supply,  sewerage,  and  fire 

protection. 

W.  H.  Holcomb,  general  manager  of  transportation. 
W.  D.  Richardson,  superintendent  of  buildings. 
F.  D.  Millet,  director  of  decoration,  functions,  and  ceremonies. 
Charles  F.  Foster,  mechanical  engineer. 
Richard  H.  Pierce,  electrical  engineer. 

Col.  Edmund  Rice,  U.  S.  A.,  commandant  Columbian  Guard. 
*D.  J.  Swenie,  Fire  Department. 
Dr.  John  E.  Owens,  medical  director. 
Frank  J.  Mulcahy,  purchasing  agent, 
f  Charles  H.  Baldwin,  attorney. 
{Charles  V.  Harrington,  chief  accountant. 

During  the  last  two  days  of  April,  Saturday  and  Sunday, 
the  grounds  were  cleaned  up  as  far  as  possible.  Exhibits  in 
the  various  buildings  were  displayed  to  the  best  advantage. 
Exhibits  still  in  packing  cases  were  hidden,  and  with  much 
skill  and  dexterity  a  beautiful  effect  was  produced  in  many 
buildings.  Last  of  all,  in  the  few  hours  before  the  dawn  of 
May  ist,  the  freight  cars,  full  and  empty,  were  drawn  back 
into  the  yards,  enabling  one  to  obtain  an  uninterrupted  view 
in  all  directions  through  the  park  and  among  the  buildings. 
With  the  aid  of  hundreds  of  teams  and  thousands  of  hands, 
the  grounds  at  dawn  on  the  ist  of  May  were  made  to 
present  a  fairly  complete  holiday  appearance,  in  spite  of  the 
heavy  rains. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  areas  of  the  grounds 
and  buildings.  It  gives  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the 
scene  as  it  appeared  upon  the  opening  day: 

*Mr.  Swenie,  as  chief  of  the  City  Fire  Department,  had  charge  of  the  Fire 
Department  of  the  Exposition.  Marshal  Edward  J.  Murphy  was  immediately  in 
charge  within  the  park  until  October  i,  1893,  when  he  was  relieved  on  account  of  ill 
health,  the  result  of  injuries  sustained  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  He  was 
then  succeeded  by  Marshal  O'Malley. 

tMr.  Baldwin  was  first  an  assistant  attorney  attached  to  the  Construction 
Department.  Subsequently  when  Solicitor-General  Edwin  Walker  reorganized 
the  Law  Department  of  your  company,  Mr.  Baldwin  was  designated  attorney  and 
had  charge  of  legal  matters  of  the  Department  of  Works. 

JMr.  Barrington  became  assistant  auditor  of  your  company  in  the  fall  of  1892, 
and  the  office  of  chief  accountant  was  then  merged  in  that  of  the  auditor. 


LAST  MONTHS  OF  CONSTRUCTION,  ETC. 


207 


A  GENERAL  SUMMARY  OF  AREA  OF  GROUNDS. 

BUILDINGS. 


Square  Feet 

Acres. 

Square  Feet 

Acres. 

Main  : 
Admini  stration 

51,456 

1.18 

Agriculture                           . 

589,416 

13.53 

Art                      

261,073 

5.99 

Electricity 

265,500 

6.09 

Fisheries 

104,504 

2.39 

Government 

155,896 

3.57 

Horticulture 

237,956 

5.46 

Machinery                         .  . 

796,686 

18.28 

Manufactures 

1,345,462 

30.88 

Mines 

246,181 

5.65 

Transportation 

704,066 

16.16 

Woman's 

82,698 

1.89 

A  04.0  8<U 

mio 

Minor 

1,630,514 

37.43 

State                                 .     „-...-- 

450,886 

10.35 

Foreign 

135,663 

3.11 

Concessions  (Midway  buildings, 

801,238 

18.39 

Miscellaneous 

317,699 

7.29 

Total  ^  

8,176,894 

187.69 

GROUNDS. 


Square  Feet. 

Acres. 

Square  Feet 

Acres. 

Lawns  and  Yards  : 
General  lawns 

4,957,141 

Water  lawns 

141,859 

Yards 

2,141,386 

7  240  386 

1fi6  o-i 

Waterways 

2,630,105 

60.37 

Roads  and  walks  (beach,  brick, 
asphalt  plank  macadam) 

11,146,184 

255.88 

Piers  : 
Casino 

411,282 

Naval 

283,843 

695  125 

15  95 

Total  

21,711,800 

498.41 

SUMMARY. 


Square  Feet. 

Acres. 

8,176,894 

187.69 

Lawns                                                .  .       ........  

7,240,386 

166.21 

Water                 .                 .  

2,630,105 

60.37 

Roads                        

11,146,184 

255.88 

Piers  -  

695,125 

15.95 

Total.  

29,888,694 

686.10 

(See  report  of  director  of  works,  Vol.  I,  page  94,  Field  Columbian  Museum.) 


208 


REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 


Eighteen  nations  had  erected  buildings  for  official  head- 
quarters on  the  grounds,  most  of  them  being  costly  struct- 
ures, and  thirty-seven  States  of  the  Union  had  done  likewise. 
These  national  and  State  buildings,  grouped  around  the 
Art  Building  or  extending  along  the  stately  avenues  and 
winding  roads  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  grounds, 
presented  a  highly  creditable  and  dignified  appearance. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  foreign  and  State  build- 
ings, with  the  area  which  they  occupied  : 


STATE  AND  FOREIGN  BUILDINGS. 


STATE. 


Square 
Feet. 

Arkansas 5,985 

California 59,948 

Colorado  5,064 

Connecticut 4,512 

Delaware 4,904 

Florida 9,394 

Idaho 4,090 

Illinois. 92,388 

Indiana 13,672 

Iowa 19,120 

Joint  Territories 4,040 

Kansas 15,176 

Kentucky 7,740 

Louisiana 3,800 

Maine _    4,370 

Maryland 7,032 

Massachusetts 7,064 

Michigan 17,800 

Minnesota 7,848 


Square 
Feet. 

Missouri 5,824 

Montana  7,092 

Nebraska 7,312 

New  Hampshire 5 ,464 

New  Jersey 4,360 

New  York 20,416 

North  Dakota 3,604 

Ohio  11,544 

Pennsylvania 16,948 

Rhode  Island 2,872 

South  Dakota 7,068 

Texas 6,756 

Utah 4,606 

Vermont 4,608 

Virginia 7,300 

Washington 24,544 

West  Virginia 7,401 

Wisconsin 9,088 


FOREIGN. 


Square 
Feet. 

Brazil 13,448 

Canada 5,008 

Ceylon 7,217 

Colombia 2,544 

Costa  Rica 6,696 

t  India 4,976 

France 11,728 

Germany 17,288 

Great  Britain 5,712 


.  Square 

Feet. 

Guatemala 13,016 

Hayti 9,622 

Japan 8,180 

New  South  Wales 4, 864 

Norway 1,120 

Spain. 6,608 

Sweden 12,552 

Turkey 2,592 

Venezuela 3,392 


Number  of  State  buildings  ........................................  37 

Number  of  foreign  buildings  _____  .................................  18 


Total 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   OPENING   OF   THE   EXPOSITION  —  MAY,  JUNE,  JULY. 

A  SEASON  of  rainy  weather  preceded  the  opening 
of  the  Exposition,  contrasting  strongly  with  that 
which  prevailed  six  months  before  at  the  dedica- 
tion. A  heavy  rain  fell  on  the  morning  of  Mon- 
day, May  ist,  and  pools  of  water  were  plentiful  wherever 
the  roads  were  not  finished  or  where  they  had  been  cut 
by  heavy  traffic.  The  buildings  had  assumed  their  final 
creamy  tint,  like  old  ivory,  and  all  the  stains  left  by  wintry 
storms  had  been  effaced.  Care  had  been  taken  to  remove 
all  traces  of  the  heavy  work  of  installation,  interrupted  only 
to  permit  the  formal  opening  of  the  Exposition.  The  rail- 
road tracks  were  withdrawn  from  the  northern  and  .central 
parts  of  the  grounds.  In  the  Court  of  Honor  only  one  line 
remained,  running  along  the  south  fronts  of  Mines,  Elec- 
tricity, and  Manufactures,  and  turning  north  along  the  east 
front  of  the  latter  building.  Other  installation  tracks 
remained  south  of  Machinery  Hall  and  Agriculture. 

The  heavy  rainfall  ceased  at  about  7  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  although  the  sky  remained  overcast  and  very 
threatening  all  day,  more  than  200,000  people  entered  the 
park. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  put  its  World's 
Fair  express  trains  in  operation  for  the  first  time.  The  cars, 
plain  but  useful,  were  built  upon  new  flat-car  bodies,  pro- 
vided with  air  brakes.  The  seats  were  arranged  crosswise 
of  the  car,  and  opened  at  each  end  directly  upon  the  landing 
platforms,  thus  enabling  the  occupants  to  step  off  instantly 

14  (209) 


2io  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

when  the  train  came  to  a  stop.  Each  seat  would  hold  five 
persons,  and  no  more  were  admitted.  The  openings  were 
fitted  with  canvas  curtains  for  protection  against  rain  or 
sun.  As  a  train  was  about  to  move  from  the  station  a 
station  guard  at  the  end  of  each  car  turned  a  lever  which 
caused  an  iron  bar  to  fall  across  each  opening  in  the  side 
of  the  car,  thus  preventing  the  passengers  from  falling  out 
while  the  cars  were  moving.  Fares  were  collected  at  turn- 
stiles as  the  passengers  were  admitted  to  the  landing  plat- 
forms. The  facilities  which  the  railroad  afforded  on  this  day 
could  easily  have  accommodated  twice  the  number  who 
sought  this  mode  of  transportation. 

The  opening  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  Grand  Plaza 
at  the  west  end  of  the  Court  of  Honor.  Platforms  and 
seats  were  arranged  along  the  east  face  of  the  Administra- 
tion Building,  and  the  rest  of  the  square  was  filled  to  reple- 
tion by  the  multitude  in  attendance.  At  the  heads  of  the 
hundreds  of  flagstaffs  upon  the  buildings  and  along  the 
Court  of  Honor  flags  and  streamers  were  so  furled  that 
each  could  be  released  by  a  single  motion  of  a  hand. 

President  Cleveland  took  his  position  upon  the  plat- 
form soon  after  n  o'clock.  Near  him  were  Vice-President 
Stevenson  and  the  members  of  the  Cabinet;  the  Duke  of 
Veragua,  the  lineal  representative  of  Christopher  Columbus, 
and  the  members  of  his  family;  the  Diplomatic  Corps, 
members  of  Congress,  directors  of  the  Exposition,  and 
members  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  and  of  the 
Board  of  Lady  Managers,  members  of  the  various  foreign 
and  State  commissions,  and  the  officers  and  chiefs  of  depart- 
ments of  the  Exposition,  with  their  ladies. 

The  order  of  exercises  was  as  follows: 

1.  Music,  Columbian  March  for  orchestra,  John  K.  Paine. 

2.  Prayer,  Rev.  W.  H.  Milburn,  Washington,  D.  C. 

3.  Poem,  "  The  Prophecy,"  by  W.  A.  Croffut,  Washington,  D.  C. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  211 

4.  Music,  Orchestral  overture  to  "  Rienzi,"  Wagner. 

5.  Address  by  the  director-general. 

6.  Address  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

7.  Starting   of   machinery,  during   which   time   the  "  Hallelujah 
Chorus,"  Handel,  was  performed. 

8.  Official  reception  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the 
officials  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  and  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  by  the  various  foreign  commissions,  in  the  build- 
ing for  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts. 

The  services  were  made  doubly  impressive  by  the  sur- 
roundings. The  true  importance  and  grandeur  of  the  Court 
of  Honor  were  more  fully  understood  and  appreciated,  not 
only  by  the  vast  concourse  of  beholders,  but  by  those  who 
had  wrought  upon  the  Exposition  from  its  inception  and 
were  then  gathered  about  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  whose  pressure  upon  the  electric  key  would  signalize 
the  fruition  of  their  long  and  vigorous  campaign.  The  key, 
with  its  electric  attachment,  was  in  place  on  the  platform 
at  the  hand  of  President  Cleveland,  and  was  connected  with 
the  2,000  horse-power  engine  exhibited  by  the  E.  P.  Allis 
Company  of  Milwaukee,  the  largest  of  the  seventy-seven 
engines  of  the  power  plant.  As  the  President  rose  to  speak 
he  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm,  followed  by  perfect 
silence  as  he  delivered  his  address,  which  was  concluded 
shortly  after  high  noon.  The  President  then  pressed  the 
key  and  the  great  engine  responded  automatically;  an 
instant  later  streams  of  water  sprang  high  in  air  from  the 
electric  fountains,  under  the  pressure  of  the  Worthington 
pumps;  the  Columbian  fountain  responded,  and  at  the  same 
instant  every  flag  was  flung  to  the  breeze.  Amid  the 
enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  vast  multitude,  the  shrill  whist- 
ling of  the  lake  craft,  and  the  deep  diapason  of  booming 
guns,  the  formalities  were  complete. 

It  was  not  possible  to  behold  the  scene  unmoved.  The 
simplicity  and  dignity  of  the  ceremonies  admirably  befitted 
the  place  and  the  occasion.  The  spectators,  for  whose 


212  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

pleasure  and  instruction  the  Exposition  had  been  created, 
will  certainly  long  remember  this  deeply  impressive  mo- 
ment. To  those  identified  with  the  administration  of  your 
enterprise,  the  occasion  was  the  climax  of  a  grand  drama; 
an  instant  of  victory  amidst  months  of  disheartening  strug- 
gle. This  day  of  triumph  cheered  some  weary  hearts  and 
strengthened  them  for  the  heavy  burden  yet  to  be  borne. 

The  multitude,  which  had  covered  every  inch  between  the 
platform  and  the  edge  of  the  Grand  Basin  and  overflowed 
in  all  directions  among  the  neighboring  buildings,  now  dis- 
persed throughout  the  grounds  to  inspect  the  treasures 
which  had  been  gathered  for  their  benefit. 

The  last  number  of  the  program  was  the  reception  of  the 
President  and  the  officers  of  the  Exposition  by  the  foreign 
commissioners,  in. the  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Build- 
ing, after  which  the  Presidential  party  visited  the  various 
courts  in  that  building.  The  tour  of  inspection  revealed 
an  attractive  and  fairly  complete  arrangement.  Along  the 
great  Columbian  Avenue  here  and  there  the  space  assigned 
to  a  nation  was  unoccupied  or  incompletely  filled,  signs 
indicating  the  reason  for  delay.  Ice  in  the  Baltic  had 
detained  the  vessels  which  bore  the  exhibits  from  countries 
bordering  on  that  sea.  Other  exhibitors,  both  foreign  and 
American,  had  cleverly  concealed  such  parts  of  their  instal- 
lations as  were  unfinished,  and  the  verdict,  freely  and  unhesi- 
tatingly given,  was  that  the  Exposition  had  been  opened 
in  a  state  more  nearly  complete  than  was  usual  with  such 
enterprises.  The  attendance  was  so  large  that  by  many  the 
day  was  thought  likely  to  prove  one  of  the  best  of  the 
Exposition.  The  paid  attendance  was,  however,  only  128,965, 
the  remainder  being  made  up  of  employes,  invited  guests, 
and  persons  otherwise  entitled  to  free  admission.  Later 
this  attendance  was  frequently  doubled,  and  even  trebled, 
without  the  aid  of  special  inducements. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  2 1 3 

The  Act  of  Congress  which  authorized  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  provided  for  an  international  naval 
display  to  be  held  in  New  York  Harbor,  beginning  April 
26,  1893,  as  a  fitting  prelude  to  the  opening  of  the  Exposi- 
tion. The  review  was  participated  in  by  fleets  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  Germany,  Russia,  Italy,  Spain,  Holland, 
Brazil,  and  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  rendezvous  was 
at  Hampton  Roads,  where  the  various  fleets  assembled,  and 
with  them  the  three  Spanish  caravels,  reproductions  of  the 
three  with  which  Columbus  made  his  voyage  of  discovery. 
From  thence  the  united  fleet  proceeded  to  New  York,  where 
the  review  was  held  with  appropriate  ceremonies  and 
festivities. 

On  May  6th  the  officers  of  the  various  squadrons  set 
out  for  Chicago  to  visit  the  Exposition.  They  were  met 
by  a  committee  of  citizens,  who  escorted  them  through  the 
city,  after  which  a  luncheon  was  given  in  their  honor  at 
the  residence  of  Mayor  Harrison.  Major-General  Miles 
and  his  staff  accompanied  the  party  during  the  day.  After 
luncheon  a  visit  was  made  to  the  Exposition. 

On  the  following  morning  your  president  gave  to  the 
party  a  breakfast  in  Music  Hall,  and  invited  foreign  com- 
missioners and  citizens  to  meet  them.  The  hall  was 
appropriately  decorated  by  the  superintendent  of  floricul- 
ture, who  used  for  the  purpose  large  quantities  of  rare  and 
beautiful  flowers  and  plants  from  the  greenhouses  under 
his  management.  This  was  one  of  the  first  social  events 
of  the  Exposition  season,  and,  by  reason  of  the  beauty  of 
its  surroundings  and  the  distinction  of  its  guests,  one  of  the 
most  notable.  Music  was  furnished  by  the  Exposition 
orchestra  under  the  leadership  of  Theodore  Thomas.  The 
national  hymns  of  the  various  countries  whose  representa- 
tives were  present  were  played  during  the  reception  which 
preceded  the  breakfast.  Several  of  the  naval  officers  and 


214  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

foreign  commissioners  made  short  speeches,  expressing  their 
admiration  of  the  Exposition  and  the  cordial  feelings  which 
their  visit  to  our  country  had  engendered.  Your  president 
also  addressed  the  assemblage  briefly. 

The  party  then  resumed  the  inspection  of  the  grounds, 
taking  steam  launches  for  a  trip  along  the  lake  to  view 
the  Exposition  from  that  side.  The  following  day  the  vis- 
itors returned  to  New  York. 

A  period  of  great  depression  followed  the  opening  day. 
With  the  fall  of  night,  long  lines  of  cars  loaded  with 
exhibits  reappeared  within  the  grounds.  The  hauling  of 
exhibits  by  teams  began  again.  The  work  of  unloading, 
unpacking,  and  installing  exhibits,  repairing  and  finish- 
ing buildings  and  structures  of  every  kind,  completing 
the  power  plant,  perfecting  the  electric  lighting,  continued 
for  several  weeks.  Efforts  were  made  to  confine  the 
work  within  those  hours  when  the  Exposition  was  closed 
to  the  public.  In  this,  however,  we  were  only  partially 
successful. 

The  Department  of  Admissions  closed  its  first  day's 
business  promptly  and  satisfactorily,  and  the  Department 
of  Collections  found  at  the  end  of  the  day  that  its  plans 
for  auditing  the  concessions  had  met  with  a  sufficient 
measure  of  success  to  demonstrate  the  entire  practicabil- 
ity of  its  system.  At  the  same  time  the  weakness  of  cer- 
tain parts  and  the  necessary  modifications  became  apparent. 

The  bad  weather  continued.  The  paid  attendance  on 
the  five  days  following  May  ist  ran  only  from  10,000  to 
18,000  persons.  Meanwhile  the  approaching  financial  panic 
caused  great  uneasiness  in  the  business  world.  The  man- 
agement dreaded  this  threatening  storm  and  recognized 
the  evil  which  it  might  bring  upon  the  Exposition.  But 
the  work  of  perfecting  the  organization  within  the  park, 
of  getting  the  great  enterprise  into  harmonious  working 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  2 1 5 

order,  and  of  establishing  proper  relations  between  its 
parts,  imposed  more  labor  upon  its  officers  than  they  could 
accomplish,  even  though  working  day  and  night.  There- 
fore we  ceased  to  care  for  things  manifestly  beyond  our 
control,  and  we  strove  to  meet  the  obstacles  that  were 
immediate  and  pressing,  and  could  be  dealt  with  with 
some  hope  of  benefit.  To  accomplish  any  of  our  aims  it 
was  necessary  to  avoid  borrowing  trouble  over  conditions 
which  we  could  not  hope  to  remedy. 

Eight  days  after  the  Exposition  opened,  the  Chemical 
National  Bank  of  Chicago  failed,  and  with  it  its  Exposition 
branch  in  the  Administration  Building.  It  could  not  stand 
the  adverse  times  and  went  down  before  the  worst  days  of 
the  panic  appeared.  The  management  should  not  have 
permitted  so  weak  an  institution  to  do  a  banking  busi- 
ness within  its  gates.  The  bank  was,  however,  compara- 
tively young,  with  a  capital  of  a  million  dollars,  and,  at 
the  time,  was  supposed  to  be  managed  with  a  reasonable 
amount  of  conservatism.  It  had  offered  to  the  Exposi- 
tion a  fair  and  advantageous  contract  for  the  privilege  of 
doing  business  in  the  Administration  Building,  and  for 
this  purpose  had  secured  an  enabling  Act  from  Congress. 
Few  of  the  other  banks  seemed  disposed  to  open  a  branch 
at  the  Exposition,  and  thus  the  contract  fell  to  the  Chemical 
Bank. 

Over  $60,000  belonging  to  exhibitors,  concessionaires, 
and  foreigners  was  on  deposit  at  the  branch  bank  in  the 
Administration  Building.  This  sum  represented  the  avail- 
able cash  of  several  hundred  persons,  many  of  them 
strangers,  thousands  of  miles  from  their  homes,  and  depend- 
ent upon  their  deposits  to  maintain  themselves  in  Chicago. 
The  discredit  to  Chicago,  and  particularly  to  the  Exposi- 
tion management,  by  reason  of  the  failure  of  the  bank 
which  the  directors  had  licensed,  would  have  been  com- 


2 1 6  REPOR  T  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

plete,  and  would  have  seriously  impaired  the  dignity  of  the 
enterprise  and  its  patronage  by  our  countrymen  had  not 
steps  been  taken  to  meet  the  emergency.  On  the  night 
of  May  8th,  before  the  failure  could  be  announced  in  the 
morning  papers,  and  before  the  amount  of  the  deposits  at 
the  branch  bank  had  been  ascertained,  your  president  and 
secretary  obtained,  over  the  telephone,  from  thirty-five 
gentlemen,  pledges  of  an  amount  sufficient  to  pay  at  once 
those  depositors  who  were  exhibitors  or  foreigners,  thus 
relieving  their  embarrassment.  These  gentlemen  under- 
took to  furnish  the  funds  needed  for  this  purpose  without 
knowing  definitely  the  amount  which  they  might  be 
required  to  pay.  The  plan  was  suggested  by  Erskine  M. 
Phelps.  On  the  evening  of  May  8th,  by  telephone  from 
the  city,  he  urged  the  secretary  that  immediate  steps  be 
taken  to  pay  these  claims,  and  offered  to  be  one  of  six  to 
defray  the  whole  amount.  Later  your  president,  who  had 
learned  from  the  officers  of  the  failed  institution  that  the 
amount  of  the  claims  of  exhibitors  and  foreigners  would 
probably  be  between  $80,000  and  $135,000,  returned  to  the 
Administration  Building,  and  within  two  hours  the  fund 
was  raised.  A  few  words  by  telephone  to  each  gentleman 
told  the  story,  set  forth  the  necessity  for  action  to  protect 
the  honor  of  the  city,  and  the  pledge  was  given.  The 
names  of  those  who  shared  this  burden  are  as  follows: 

Erskine  M.  Phelps.  Ferdinand  W.  Peck.  Norman  B.  Ream. 

Edward  B.  Butler.  Arthur  Dixon.  William  T.  Baker. 

Byron  L.  Smith.  Otto  Young.  Charles  H.  Schwab. 

Thies  J.  Lefens.  John  W.  Doane.  John  J.  Mitchell. 

Andrew  McNally.  Washington  Porter.  Edward  F.  Lawrence. 

George  H.  Wheeler.  Elbridge  G.  Keith.  Martin  A.  Ryerson. 

Harlow  N.Higinbotham.  William  J.  Chalmers.  George  M.  Pullman. 

Charles  L.  Hutchinson.  William  D.  Kerfoot.  George  Schneider. 

Frederick  S.  Winston.  Adolph  Nathan.  Edwin  Walker. 

Albert  A.  Sprague.  Herman  H.  Kohlsaat.  Charles  H.  Wacker. 

Milton  W.  Kirk.  Robert  A.  Waller.  John  J.  P.  Odell. 

Lyman  J.  Gage.  Melville  E.  Stone. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  2 1  ^ 

A  few  days  later  each  of  these  gentlemen,  at  call,  for- 
warded his  check  for  his  share  of  the  total  requirement,  and 
the  claims  of  the  depositors  were  paid.  Your  president  took 
legal  assignments  of  deposit  claims  to  himself  as  trustee. 
The  receiver  of  the  bank  has  since  repaid  to  the  syndicate 
95  per  cent  of  the  amount  advanced.  The  balance,  with 
interest,  will  probably  be  finally  paid,  so  that  there  will 
ultimately  be  no  loss  to  the  members  of  the  syndicate. 

The  panic  grew  apace,  and  the  attendance  at  the  Exposi- 
tion increased  very  slowly.  Heavy  obligations  for  construc- 
tion work  matured,  but  there  were  no  funds  with  which  to 
meet  them.  The  heavy  liquidation  and  the  severe  con- 
traction of  credit  throughout  the  country  made  the  demand 
for  money  everywhere  very  pressing,  and  it  was  not  easy  to 
withstand  the  just  demands  of  creditors  greatly  in  need  of 
moneys  due  them.  Little  or  nothing  could  be  done,  as 
the  small  receipts  left  only  a  narrow  margin  above  actual 
expenses.  In  a  short  time  unpaid  vouchers  amounting  to 
over  a  million  of  dollars  were  piled  up  in  the  treasurer's 
office  awaiting  the  accumulation  of  funds. 

The  concessionaires  shared  in  the  general  distress. 
Most  of  them  had  grievances  against  the  Exposition  for 
incomplete  roads,  for  inadequate  electric  light  service,  and 
for  various  other  causes.  They  were  doing  little  business 
and  saw  ruin  stare  them  in  the  face.  Many  of  them  re- 
fused to  pay  the  percentages  due  under  their  contracts. 
In  taking  this  position  some  of  them  were  justified  because, 
under  inevitable  necessity,  their  contracts  were  violated; 
others  found  pretexts  in  contracts  defectively  drawn.  The 
Board  of  Directors  decided  that  every  grievance  should 
be  heard  and  determined  immediately,  and  that  all  such 
matters  should  be  adjusted  promptly,  so  that  the  Exposition 
might  at  once  realize  its  proportion  of  their  gross  receipts. 
A  Committee  on  Adjustment  was  therefore  appointed, 


2l8  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

consisting  of  Adolph  Nathan,  chairman;  Thies  J.  Lefens 
and  Andrew  McNally,  to  which  Edward  F.  Lawrence  was 
afterward  added.  This  committee  had  powqr  to  deal  with 
all  concessionaires  and  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  and 
adjust  all  claims  between  them  and  the  Exposition,  the 
object  being,  as  aforesaid,  to  remove  all  pretexts  urged 
against  the  payment  of  percentages,  and  to  get  the  con- 
cessionaires in  the  habit  of  paying  as  quickly  as  possible. 
S.  S.  Page  was  retained  by  the  committee  as  its  attorney, 
and  concessionaires  were  dealt  with  promptly  and  per- 
sistently. Persuasion  and  reasonable  concessions  were  used 
where  possible,  and  more  decisive  measures  when  neces- 
sary. This  committee  was  in  almost  continuous  session 
until  the  close  of  the  Exposition  season.  It  adjusted 
claims  presented  by  concessionaires  and,  through  its  attor- 
ney, took  charge  of  such  delinquent  payments  as  the 
superintendent  of  collections  was  unable  to  collect.  It 
uncovered  abuses  and  defects  in  the  administration  in  many 
instances,  and  remedied  them  wherever  possible.  The 
members  of  the  committee  have  received  from  the  Board 
of  Directors  well-deserved  thanks  for  their  services.  Their 
chairman  should  have  special  credit  for  his  constant  appli- 
cation to  this  task,  which  almost  wholly  absorbed  his  time 
during  the  perils  of  the  financial  crisis,  when  every  business 
man  felt  the  need  of  watching  closely  his  personal  interests. 

In  June  the  attendance  grew  rapidly.  The  average 
paid  attendance  during  May  was  37,510  per  day;  in  June 
it  was  89,170.  The  total  receipts  from  all  sources  during 
May  were  $583,031.25  ;  during  June,  $1,256,180.  With  these 
increased  receipts  it  became  possible  to  make  payments 
upon  the  floating  debt  and  to  reduce  the  great  amount  of 
unpaid  obligations  that  were  pressing  for  settlement. 

Except  in  the  Anthropological  Building,  the  installation 
of  exhibits  was  substantially  finished  during  the  month  of 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


219 


May.  At  the  same  time  numberless  details  of  ornamental 
work  in  various  parts  of  the  grounds  were  completed. 
The  two  band  stands  in  the  Court  of  Honor,  east  of  the 
Administration  Building,  were  finished.  The  statue  of 
Columbus,  modeled  by  Mary  E.  Lawrence  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Augustus  St.  Gaudens  and  with  his  assistance,  was 
placed  at  the  east  entrance  of  the  Administration  Building. 
The  damages  to  roads  and  buildings  caused  by  the  heavy 
work  of  installation  were  repaired.  Early  in  June  the 
unsightly  freight  cars  disappeared,  the  tracks  were  removed, 
the  landscape  work  was  completed,  and  the  Exposition  was 
in  truth  ready.  On  June  nth  a  heavy  rain  occurred,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  roofs  were  at  last  in  good  condition. 
Thus  one  cause  of  grave  anxiety  was  removed. 

There  still  remained  some  features  which  required 
further  time  to  complete,  but  these  were  mostly  unimpor- 
tant and  could  easily  be  overlooked  in  a  general  survey. 
Portions  of  the  power  plant  were  not  ready.  Electric  light 
service  was  far  from  perfect,  causing  complaint  and  loss  of 
revenue.  The  water  supply  for  the  tw®  electric  fountains 
was  not  yet  in  a  proper  condition.  Serious  mechanical 
difficulties  had  appeared  when  the  first  attempts  were 
made  to  operate  these  fountains.  The  "water  hammer" 
following  their  sudden  manipulation  was  greater  than  had 
been  expected,  causing  a  severe  shock  upon  the  Worthing- 
ton  pumps,  and  requiring  the  introduction  of  large  relief 
valves  and  an  air  chamber.  These  changes,  involving 
great  labor,  .were  quickly  made  by  working  night  and  day. 

In  the  matter  of  water  closets  and  lavatories,  provision 
had  been  made  on  a  scale  far  greater  than  at  any  previous 
exposition.  Within  the  Exposition  grounds  there  were  3,116 
water  closets,  as  against  250  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of 
1889,  and  900  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  of  1876  in 
Philadelphia.  This  provision  was  the  result  of  a  concession 


220  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

granted  to  the  Clow  Sanitary  Company,  under  the  terms 
of  which  that  company  installed  water  closets  and  lavatories 
in  thirty-two  locations,  the  total  number  of  closets  being 
2,221,  with  the  necessary  wash  basins,  etc.  About  one-third 
of  these  were  free  to  the  use  of  the  public,  and  the  rest, 
which  were  fitted  up  with  expensive  appliances  and  pro- 
vided with  soap,  towels,  clothes  brushes,  attendants,  etc., 
were  operated  by  the  Clow  Sanitary  Company  for  profit,  a 
charge  of  5  cents  being  made  for  admission  to  them.  The 
company  was  held  strictly  to  its  contract,  and  was  required 
to  keep  the  free  portions  of  the  stations  in  good  order. 
In  addition  to  the  closets  of  this  company  there  were  895 
closets  belonging  to  the  various  concessions  and  the  offices 
of  the  Exposition. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  under  this  arrangement 
much  greater  facilities  were  provided  in  the  free  portions 
by  the  Clow  Sanitary  Company  than  had  been  provided 
at  Paris  in  1889  or  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  much  complaint 
arose,  due  partly  to  misunderstanding  and  misrepresenta- 
tion as  to  the  nature  of  the  contract,  and  partly  to  the 
failure  to  enforce  its  terms  strictly  during  the  early  part 
of  the  Exposition  season.  Later  the  complaints  vanished 
almost  entirely.  The  rules  were  strictly  enforced,  and  the 
public  was  made  to  understand  that  ample  free  facilities 
were  available.  Moreover,  many  people  were  glad  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  extra  facilities  at  the  moderate  price 
charged,  appreciating  the  fact  that  the  Exposition  could 
not  bear  the  heavy  expense  of  providing  such  facilities 
free. 

May  was  a  month  of  experiments.  The  experiments 
and  consequent  changes  were  carried  on  in  the  midst  of 
much  complaint  and  severe  criticism  within  the  Exposition 
management  and  without,  through  the  press  and  other- 
wise. So  much  misunderstanding  occurred  between  various 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  221 

branches  of  organization  that  at  times  it  appeared  impos- 
sible to  make  the  different  branches  work  efficiently  and 
satisfactorily.  It  happened,  however,  in  many  stages  of  the 
enterprise,  that  its  greatest  danger  arose  from  a  tendency 
to  experiment  with  and  to  change  the  administrative 
organization.  When  left  to  pursue  its  work  without  inter- 
ruption the  most  pressing  and  obstinate  difficulties  were 
usually  overcome  and  adjusted.  Complaints  of  irregulari- 
ties and  defects,  when  reported  properly  at  the  office  of 
the  Council  of  Administration,  soon  found  remedies  where 
remedies  were  possible. 

Early  in  June  the  Infanta  Donna  Eulalia  arrived  in  Chi- 
cago as  the  representative  of  her  nephew,  the  infant  king  of 
Spain,  Alfonso  XIII.  She  was  accompanied  by  her  husband, 
the  Infante  Don  Antonio,  and  was  greeted  with  enthusi- 
astic demonstrations  by  the  people  of  Chicago.  Prepara- 
tions were  made  to  do  her  honor.  Her  first  visit  to  the 
Exposition  was  made  the  occasion  of  suitable  ceremonies, 
a  military  parade,  breakfast  in  the  Administration  Building, 
a  tour  of  the  grounds,  inspection  of  the  various  buildings 
and  their  exhibits,  a  trip  through  the  lagoons  in  the  elec- 
tric boats  and  on  the  lake  in  the  steam  launches,  and  a 
pyrotechnic  display  in  the  evening. 

Festival  Hall  had  by  this  time  been  completed  and  its 
great  organ  installed.  On  June  loth  your  president  and 
Mrs.  Palmer,  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers, 
gave  a  concert  at  this  hall  in  honor  of  the  Infanta.  The 
program  included  Edward  Lloyd,  the  English  tenor,  the 
World's  Fair  children's  chorus  of  a  thousand  voices,  the 
chorus  of  the  Apollo  Musical  Club,  and  the  Exposition 
orchestra,  the  music  being  under  the  direction  of  the 
musical  director,  Theodore  Thomas,  and  the  choral  director, 
William  L.  Tomlins. 

As  heretofore  stated,  the  attendance  in  June  showed  a 


222  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

gratifying  increase  over  that  of  the  previous  month,  and 
the  receipts  from  concessionaires  began  to  assume  satis- 
factory proportions.  The  increase  in  attendance  was  due 
to  two  causes.  First,  this  was  a  convenient  time  for  stu- 
dents and  teachers  whose  work  was  closed  for  the  summer. 
Second,  those  who  had  visited  the  Exposition  during  the 
previous  month  carried  to  their  homes  reports  which  were, 
in  the  main,  favorable  to  the  enterprise.  Persons  who 
came  expecting  to  find  extortion  and  discomfort  found, 
instead,  accommodations  at  much  cheaper  rates  than  could 
reasonably  have  been  expected,  and  the  number  of  hotels 
and  boarding  houses  in  excess  of  the  demand,  so  great 
had  been  the  preparation  for  receiving  visitors.  They 
found  comfortable  conveyance  from  the  city  to  the  park 
in  twelve  minutes,  good  order  and  strict  watchfulness 
among  the  police  without  and  the  guards  within  the 
grounds.  They  found  in  the  Midway  Plaisance  a  most 
interesting  and  amusing  resort,  where  relief  and  rest 
could  be  found  when  the  sight-seer  was  wearied  by  his 
studies  in  the  great  buildings,  and  above  all  they  found, 
even  in  the  incomplete  Exposition,  such  noble  conceptions, 
such  beauty  of  plan,  and  such  harmony  ot  detail  as  to 
impress  and  thrill  even  the  least  susceptible  and  to  satisfy 
the  longings  and  the  ideals  of  the  most  cultured  and 
refined. 

Thus  as  the  weather  settled  into  a  clear,  bright,  pleas- 
ant, early  summer,  with  soft  and  refreshing  breezes  from 
the  great  lake  blowing  over  the  park,  the  Exposition 
received  a  foretaste  of  the  enthusiastic  patronage  which 
it  enjoyed  so  fully  in  the  fall.  Gradually  the  attendance 
increased  until  it  frequently  exceeded  100,000  paid  admis- 
sions per  day,  and  on  German  day,  June  isth,  it  reached 
165,000. 

An  incident  which  aided  greatly  in  removing  false  im- 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  22$ 

pressions  and  in  popularizing  the  Exposition  was  the  meet- 
ing of  the  National  Editorial  Association  in  Chicago  on  May 
2oth.  The  distinguished  representatives  of  the  press  who 
were  present  keenly  appreciated  your  company's  work  and 
the  results  which  had  been  achieved.  They  informed  them- 
selves thoroughly  as  to  the  Exposition  and  its  management,, 
and  as  to  the  conditions  prevailing  generally  in  Chicago. 
Before  adjourning  they  adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  we  have  observed  with  satisfaction  the  great  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  and  find  it  much  nearer  completion  than  popular 
reports  have  led  us  to  expect,  and  we  are  convinced  that  great  and 
harmful  misapprehension  prevails  throughout  the  country  in  regard  to 
this  matter.  There  is  no  foundation  for  the  rumors  of  extortion  reported 
to  have  been  practiced  upon  visitors  in  this  city  or  on  the  Fair  grounds, 
and  it  is  our  belief  that  every  effort  is  being  made  by  those  in  official 
positions  to  make  the  great  Fair  all  that  it  should  be  as  an  exponent  of 
the  nation's  highest  civilization  and  enlightenment,  and  that  the  pleas- 
ure and  comfort  of  guests  from  home  and  abroad  have  their  constant 
and  assiduous  care. 

This  resolution  was  dispatched  to  every  newspaper  repre- 
sented in  the  association,  and,  being  regarded  as  an  intelli- 
gent and  unbiased  statement  of  the  facts,  after  personal  con- 
tact with  the  conditions  prevailing  in  Chicago,  it  did  the 
Exposition  more  good  than  anything  that  had  occurred 
thus  far. 

I  desire  also  to  record  at  this  point  an  action  of  the  exec- 
utive officers  of  the  various  State  commissions,  for  which 
they  are  entitled  to  our  gratitude.  The  following  statement, 
which  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  these  officers  in  the  latter 
part  of  June,  sets  forth  the  condition  of  the  Exposition  and 
the  facilities  for  entertaining  visitors  in  Chicago.  It  was 
widely  circulated  and  proved  very  effective  : 

We,  the  executive  officers  of  the  States  and  Territories  we  respect- 
ively represent,  deem  it  our  duty  to  present  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  the  following  statement  for  their  information: 

On  the  opening  of  the  World's  Fair,  May  ist,  while  many  of  the 
Exposition  buildings  were  in  an  entirely  satisfactory  condition,  exhibits 


224  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

were  incomplete  and  the  work  of  installation  had  for  various  reasons 
been  very  much  retarded.  Since  that  date  the  Exposition  authorities 
have  accomplished  an  immense  amount  of  work  in  Jackson  Park,  and 
the  buildings  of  the  great  departments  are  complete.  Streets  and  walks 
are  in  perfect  condition;  exhibits  from  foreign  countries  and  the  several 
States  and  Territories  have  been  received  in  large  numbers  and  are 
practically  installed;  the  pavilions,  entrances,  booths,  etc.,  are  elaborate 
and  beautiful,  and  the  visitor  finds  himself  in  a  bewildering  mass  of 
exhibits  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  a  display  of  surpassing  mag- 
nificence and  beauty.  In  brief,  the  world  has  never  seen  before  a  col- 
lection approaching  it  in  value,  interest,  and  educational  features. 
Forty  States  and  Territories  have  contributed  $6,020,850  for  the  erection 
of  the  buildings  and  in  aid  of  exhibitors,  and  there  has  been  raised  for 
the  purpose  of  the  Exposition,  exclusive  of  gate  receipts,  interest,  and 
the  above  amount  from  the  States,  $26,904,264.55. 

The  conveniences  afforded  for  quick  and  easy  communication  from 
one  part  of  the  grounds  to  another  by  the  intramural  railway,  electric 
launches,  and  gondolas  are  excellent,  and  invalids  and  others  can  be 
transported  through  the  grounds  and  buildings  in  rolling  chairs  in  the 
most  comfortable  manner. 

The  Midway  Plaisance  contains  features  novel  and  interesting — a 
representation  of  the  nations  of  the  globe  of  surpassing  interest. 

We  unhesitatingly  affirm  that  the  exhibits,  the  buildings  of  the 
Exposition  —  State,  Territorial,  and  foreign  —  will  make  a  visit  to  Chi- 
cago the  event  of  your  life. 

The  individual  exhibits  in  the  various  departments  from  the  several 
States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries  are  of 
wonderful  interest  and  value,  and  illustrate  in  a  remarkable  manner 
the  growth  of  the  arts,  sciences,  and  manufactures.  Individual  exhib- 
itors, at  great  expense  and  sacrifice,  have  placed  in  the  Exposition 
buildings  evidences  of  industry,  skill,  and  ingenuity  creditable  in  the 
highest  degree  to  the  artisans,  manufacturers,  and  agriculturists  of  the 
United  States. 

The  reports  industriously  circulated  that  extortion  of  every  nature 
prevails  in  Chicago  and  on  the  Fair  grounds  we  emphatically  deny  from 
personal  experience.  In  the  numerous  restaurants  in  Jackson  Park  the 
prices  are  no  higher  than  are  charged  for  the  same  variety  and  quality 
of  food  in  other  cities  of  the  Union. 

Comfortable  rooms  convenient  to  the  park  can  be  secured  at  reason- 
able rates  by  the  day  or  week,  with  or  without  board;  and  board  can 
readily  be  .obtained  at  rates  not  excessive.  It  is  the  opinion  generally 
expressed  by  those  who  have  visited  the  Fair  that  they  were  agreeably 
surprised,  not  only  in  the  completeness,  variety,  and  extent  of  the 
exhibits,  but  in  the  reasonable  charge  for  rooms  and  board. 

The  educational  features  of  the  Fair  and  the  evidences  of  wonderful 
progress  made  in  this  country  since  its  discovery  are  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance to  incite  all  to  see  the  Exposition.  It  is  an  opportunity  never 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


225 


before  given  to  our  people,  and  probably  never  will  be  again.  A  single 
admission  fee  of  50  cents  admits  to  the  grounds  and  to  all  the  Exposi- 
tion buildings  proper. 

We  have  presented  fairly  and  truthfully  the  condition  of  affairs  at 
the  Exposition. 

A.  B.  FARQUHAR, 
Executive  Officer,  Pennsylvania, 

President  of  Association. 
J.  K.  GWYNN, 
Executive  Officer,  Missouri, 

Executive  Commissioner. 


DONALD  MCNAUGHTON, 
Executive  Officer,  New  York. 

B.  F.  HAVENS, 
Executive  Officer ,  Indiana. 

JOHN  S.  APPERSON, 
Executive  Officer,  Virginia. 

E.  C.  HOVEY, 
Executive  Officer,  Massachusetts. 

C.  P.  MATTOX, 
Executive  Officer,  Maine. 

GEORGE  L.  McCAHAN, 
Executive  Officer,  Maryland. 

THOMAS  H.  BROWN, 
Executive  Officer,  South  Dakota. 

JOHN  C.  WYMAN, 
Executive  Officer,  Rhode  Island. 

THOMAS  H.  THOMPSON, 
Executive  Officer,  California. 

ARTHUR  C.  JACKSON, 
Executive  Officer,  Florida. 

JAMES  O.  CROSBY, 
Executive  Officer,  Iowa. 

W.  H.  DULANEY, 
Executive  Officer,  Kentucky. 

JAMES  M.  WELLS, 
Executive  Officer,  Idaho. 

G.  V.  CALHOUN, 
Executive  Officer,  Washington. 


N.  A.  EMPY, 
Executive  Officer,  Utah. 

JOSEPH  GARNEAU, 
Executive  Officer,  Nebraska. 

ALFRED  DICKEY, 
Executive  Officer,  North  Dakota. 

D.  A.  MONFORT, 
Executive  Officer,  Minnesota. 

J.  H.  VAILL, 
Executive  Officer,  Connecticut. 

W.  N.  CHANCELLOR, 
Executive  Officer,  West  Virginia. 

R.  B.  KIRKLAND, 
Executive  Officer,  Wisconsin. 

E.  M.  SHAW, 
Executive  Officer,  New  Hampshire. 

I.  M.  WESTON, 
Executive  Officer,  Michigan. 

STEPHEN  J.  MEEKER, 
Executive  Officer,  New  Jersey. 

P.  M.  WILSON, 
Executive  Officer,  North  Carolina. 

O.  C.  FRENCH, 
Executive  Officer,  Colorado. 

T.  B.  MILLS, 
Executive  Officer,  New  Mexico. 

M.  W.  COBUN, 
Executive  Officer,  Kansas. 


The  management  now  believed  that  it  was  time  to 
enter  into  a  vigorous  campaign  for  the  purpose  of  increas- 
ing the  attendance.  One  great  obstacle  was  the  effort 
made  by  the  railroads  to  maintain  rates  of  transportation. 
There  was  but  little  reduction  from  the  ordinary  fare,  the 
railroad  managers  apparently  adopting  the  view  that  the 
travel  to  the  Exposition  would  be  large  enough  to  call  into 

15 


226  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

use  all  their  facilities,  and  that  any  reduction,  while  it  might 
bring  them  greater  business,  would  not  result  in  a  greater 
net  profit.  Plans  were  prepared  for  a  grand  celebration  on 
the  Fourth  of  July,  and  an  effort  was  made  by  the  manage- 
ment to  secure  some  concessions  from  the  railroads  in  con- 
nection therewith.  Suitable  ceremonies  were  arranged,  in- 
cluding concerts  in  Festival  Hall  and  Music  Hall,  speeches 
and  other  exercises  on  the  Administration  Plaza,  fireworks  in 
the  evening,  etc.,  and  the  attractions  were  widely  advertised. 
This  resulted  in  an  attendance  early  in  July  as  follows: 

July  1st 106,032 

July  2d Sunday 

July  3d 105,977 

July  4th ..283,273 

The  attendance  on  July  4th  was  the  largest  yet  expe- 
rienced and  some  supposed  it  to  be  the  greatest  which  the 
Exposition  would  have.  This  prediction,  like  that  as  to  the 
attendance  on  May  ist,  was  destined  to  be  disproved  later. 
Soon  after  July  4th  the  attendance  again  fell  off,  owing  to 
the  heat  and  the  fact  that  many  who  had  visited  the  Expo- 
sition en  route  for  places  of  summer  resort  had  gone  away, 
while  others  were  delaying  their  visits  until  more  favorable 
weather  should  prevail.  The  same  falling  off  is  noticeable 
in  the  attendance  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876. 
Nevertheless,  it  served  to  discourage  the  hopes  of  officers 
and  to  add  to  the  burden  of  their  cares. 

The  infinity  of  details  which  burdened  your  president 
and  the  Council  of  Administration  at  this  time  was  over- 
whelming. There  was  no  opportunity  for  strengthening 
or  enlarging  our  organization,  for  meeting  new  business,  or 
for  disposing  of  arrears.  The  services  of  persons  unfamiliar 
with  the  complex  organization  and  the  duties  of  hundreds 
of  officers  were  useless.  Directors  who,  full  of  sympathy, 
were  anxious  to  aid  your  overworked  officers  found  them- 
selves unable  to  assist  unless  they  had  kept  pace  with  the 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  22*J 

business  for  months  before  or  went  resolutely  to  work  to 
acquire  the  necessary  information.  The  president  found 
in  George  V.  Massey  of  the  Council  of  Administration  a 
firm  friend,  an  industrious  fellow-laborer,  and  a  counselor 
wise,  firm,  and  temperate,  whose  advice  proved  invaluable 
in  many  emergencies.  But  for  Mr.  Massey 's  intelligent 
assistance  and  tireless  industry  your  president  fears  that 
his  physical  strength  could  not  have  endured  the  burdens 
laid  upon  him.  The  secretary  of  your  company  and  the 
secretary  of  the  Council  of  Administration  were  with  your 
president  day  and  night.  Mr.  Edmonds  took  up  quarters 
in  the  Administration  Building,  seldom  leaving  the  park 
by  day  or  night.  The  work  of  the  office  began  after  an 
early  breakfast  and  continued  almost  uninterruptedly  until 
far  into  the  night.  The  days  were  occupied  with  per- 
sonal interviews  with  officers  and  employes,  or  with 
concessionaires  appealing  their  grievances  from  the  super- 
intendent of  collections  or  the  Committee  on  Adjustment. 
The  evening  was  given  to  correspondence  or  the  clearing 
up  of  matters  which  had  accumulated  during  the  day.  It 
frequently  happened  that  i  o'clock  in  the  morning  found 
your  president  and  secretary  still  at  their  desks. 

On  the  floor  above,  where  the  director-general  had  his 
office,  the  same  scene  was  presented.  Colonel  Davis  also 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  Administration  Building  and 
gave  himself  entirely  to  his  work,  and  with  his  clerks  and 
assistants  he  labored  steadily,  day  and  night,  for  months 
before  and  after  the  opening  day,  to  perfect  the  installa- 
tion of  foreign  and  domestic  exhibits  and  to  put  this  branch 
of  the  Exposition  in  satisfactory  condition.  During  the 
day  his  office  was  thronged  with  callers  whose  business 
required  his  personal  attention,  and  the  consideration  of 
important  matters  was  deferred  to  the  quiet  which  could 
be  secured  only  in  the  night. 


228  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  most  threatening  and  oppressive  embarrassment  of 
your  company  was  its  heavy  indebtedness,  the  true  extent 
of  which  was  thoroughly  understood  about  this  time,  July 
i st.  Frequent  reference  has  been  made  to  the  difficulty 
of  preparing  budgets  of  estimates  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  they  were  outgrown  by  the  needs  of  the  Exposition. 
The  latest  budget  had  been  prepared  on  January  i,  1893. 
It  showed  a  total  estimated  requirement  for  completing  the 
Exposition,  including  payments  on  account  of  construction, 
the  expenses  of  the  director-general's  departments,  and  of 
the  general  offices  of  the  company,  amounting  to  $20,012,- 
268.08,  a  large  part  of  which  was  not  expected  to  fall  due 
until  after  May  ist.  When  this  budget  was  prepared  it  was 
thought  possible,  by  using  every  resource  at  the  command 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  to  carry  the  work  successfully 
through  to  May  ist;  that  this  date  would  be  reached  with 
the  treasury  not  entirely  exhausted,  but  with  a  considerable 
amount  of  obligations  on  contracts  which  would  not  become 
due  until  some  weeks  later;  and  that  the  total  amount  of 
such  obligations  would  not  be  great  enough  to  seriously 
obstruct  the  payment  of  the  Exposition  debenture  bonds. 
The  Board  of  Directors  had  limited  the  amount  of  the  bonds 
of  the  Exposition  to  $5,000,000,  and  had,  by  implication 
at  least,  limited  its  power  to  create  debt  to  this  amount 
also. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  last  budget  of  estimates  (January 
i,  1893)  proved  unreliable  soon  after  it  was  adopted,  and 
payments  on  account  of  many  of  its  items  exceeded  the 
amounts  therein  assigned.  Then  it  became  impossible 
to  dispose  of  the  last  $400,000  of  bonds.  In  addition  to 
this,  an  Act  of  Congress  was  passed  which  withheld  $570,880 
of  the  appropriation  of  souvenir  half  dollars  made  in 
the  previous  August  to  aid  in  completing  the  Expo- 
sition, in  order  to  compel  your  company  to  appropriate 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  229 

money  for  the  expenses  of  judging  and  awarding  medals 
for  exhibits.  (See  Chapter  IV.)  Thus  the  company  was 
crippled  in  its  resources  to  the  amount  of  more  than 
$1,000,000.  Finally,  the  deferred  payments,  because  of 
delay  in  construction  work,  disagreements  over  final  esti- 
mates upon  contracts,  etc.,  proved  larger  than  had  been 
anticipated. 

The  total  amount  paid  out  up  to  April  30,  1893,  was 
only  $17,869,421.94,  which,  if  the  budget  of  January  ist 
had  been  correct,  would  have  left  a  little  over  $2,100,000 
still  payable  on  account  of  construction  and  preparation 
for  opening  the  Exposition.  But  the  amount  actually  so 
expended  was  largely  in  excess  of  the  budget  of  January 
i st.  An  estimate  of  the  floating  indebtedness  made  on 
May  ist  showed  balances  due  on  construction  accounts 
alone  in  the  neighborhood  of  $2,000,000.  In  addition  to 
this,  material  for  the  Mechanical  Department  (pipes,  fittings, 
etc.)  and  stock  of  all  sorts  had  been  purchased,  under  the 
pressure  of  grave  emergencies,  and  without  proper  author- 
ity, to  an  enormous  amount,  which,  in  the  confusion  at 
May  ist,  could  not  even  approximately  be  summed  up. 
Not  infrequently  bills  were  presented  for  payment,  regard- 
ing which  neither  your  president,  the  Council  of  Admin- 
istration, nor  the  auditor  had  been  able  to  get  any  informa- 
tion, although  the  obligation  had  been  incurred  by  some 
subordinate  officer  weeks  or  months  before.  The  oppor- 
tunity of  subordinate  officers  seriously  to  embarrass  your 
company  by  contracting  liabilities  to  large  amounts  was 
quite  ample.  Nor  was  it  possible  to  check  this  state  of 
things,  for  your  president  and  the  Council  of  Administration, 
in  the  main,  had  confidence  in  the  officers  under  them,  and 
felt  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  hamper  them  as  to  expendi- 
tures at  a  time  when  the  paramount  object  was  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Exposition  by  the  time  fixed.  My  only  regret 


230  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

is  that  we  were  unsuccessful  in  creating  some  system  which 
would  have  enabled  the  management  to  have  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  liabilities  as  they  were  incurred.  Because 
of  the  lack  of  this  knowledge,  your  president  and  the 
Council  of  Administration  were  frequently  criticised  and 
censured,  although  they  felt  that  they  had  done  as  well 
as  was  possible  under  the  trying  circumstances.  In  the 
orderly  conduct  of  an  established  business  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  president  or  the  general  manager  to  have  full  knowl- 
edge of  the  details  of  every  line  of  expenditure  or  obliga- 
tion incurred.  In  a  heavy  and  costly  work  of  construc- 
tion it  is  never  possible  to  estimate  so  closely  as  in  an  old 
established  business.  This  every  one  knows  who  has  been 
identified  with  the  construction  of  a  railroad  or  a  great 
building.  In  a  military  campaign,  in  the  time  of  war, 
questions  of  expense  are  utterly  disregarded,  the  only  object 
worthy  of  consideration  being  the  achievement  of  victory 
over  the  enemy.  I  have  mentioned  a  great  private  business, 
a  work  of  construction,  and  a  military  campaign.  The 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  from  start  to  finish,  resem- 
bled the  latter  more  than  it  did  the  two  former.  Great 
and  unusual  powers  had  to  be  entrusted  to  subordinate 
hands  for  the  accomplishment  of  one  result,  without  accu- 
rate count  of  the  cost. 

Gradually  it  appeared,  after  May  ist,  that  the  floating 
debt  was  of  serious  and  threatening  proportions.  In  the 
midst  of  the  financial  panic,  the  contraction  of  credit,  and  the 
scarcity  of  ready  money,  the  directors  found  that  their 
implied  pledge  to  the  bondholders  had  been  violated. 
Instead  of  a  floating  debt  of  $2,000,000  there  were  debts 
under  contracts  and  debts  for  supplies  of  every  description 
amounting  to  almost  $4,500,000,  of  which  over  $3,000,000 
were  chargeable  to  construction  account.  The  operating 
expenses  for  May  were  $593,757.20,  and  the  gate  and  con- 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  231 

cession  receipts  for  the  same  month  were  $657,727.40,  a 
showing  which,  in  view  of  a  bonded  and  floating  debt  of  at 
least  $8,000,000,  with  but  five  months  more  in  which  to 
secure  funds  for  its  liquidation,  was  enough  to  discourage 
the  stoutest  heart.  Your  president  makes  no  complaint  as 
to  the  criticism  and  blame  which  were  frequently  cast 
upon  him  by  directors  about  this  time.  Whether  he  de- 
served them  or  not,  there  was  that  in  the  situation  which 
was  calculated  to  cause  directors  to  lose  faith  in  the 
management  of  their  company.  In  the  face  of  the  pre- 
vailing panic  and  the  consequent  danger  of  a  poorly 
attended  exposition,  there  is  no  wonder  that  men  grew 
bitter,  and  even  unjust,  when  they  felt  that  their  busi- 
ness reputation  and  honor  were  staked  upon  the  proper 
management  of  the  affairs  of  your  company.  The  less 
familiarity  a  director  had  with  the  intricacies  of  the  com- 
pany's management,  the  more  culpable  appeared  the  conduct 
of  your  officers  in  permitting  the  accumulation  of  such  a 
liability,  and  the  more  thorough  and  sweeping  were  his 
denunciations.  It  is  cause  for  thankfulness  that  the  preca- 
rious condition  of  your  company  was  not  generally  under- 
stood until  the  end  of  June,  during  which  month  we  had 
collected  from  gate  receipts  and  concessions  nearly  a  million 
dollars  in  excess  of  the  operating  expenses. 

This  increase  in  receipts  justified  the  hope  that  the  busi- 
ness would  improve  sufficiently  to  enable  us  to  pay  the 
company's  debts  in  full.  Yet  even  with  the  increase  of  June 
the  final  outcome  seemed  problematical.  With  the  falling  off 
of  the  attendance  in  July  and  the  fuller  knowledge  of  your 
company's  financial  condition,  it  is  no  wonder  that  depression 
burdened  the  hearts  of  your  officers.  Personally,  I  have 
felt  that  the  effect  of  the  worry  and  strain  in  July,  1893,  was 
equal  to  that  of  years  of  labor. 

The  last  attempt  at  a  revision  of   the    administrative 


232  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

machinery  of  the  Exposition  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of 
June,  and  should  be  mentioned  here.  The  friction  between 
various  departments,  inevitable  in  a  new  enterprise  of  such 
magnitude,  was  intensified  by  defective  organization,  which 
made  it  difficult  to  preserve  wholesome  restraint  and  proper 
subordination.  This  state  of  affairs,  with  the  complaints 
constantly  arising  as  to  the  number  of  passes  issued,  and 
other  defects  in  the  system  of  admissions,  led  to  a  movement 
in  the  Executive  Committee  for  further  revision.  The 
Bureau  of  Admissions  was  abolished  and  the  two  depart- 
ments of  Admissions  and  Collections  were  placed  under 
the  Council  of  Administration.  George  R.  Davis  was  form- 
ally elected  director-general  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition,  he  having  previously  held  his  office  by  virtue 
of  an  appointment  from  the  World's  Columbian  Commis- 
sion. He  was  recognized  as  the  superior  officer  of  the 
director  of  works,  the  latter  being  made  the  chief  execu- 
tive officer  of  the  director-general,  and  instructed  to  receive 
his  orders  through  that  officer.  The  chief  objection  to 
this  plan  was  that  it  compelled  the  Council  of  Admin- 
istration to  send  its  orders  through  the  director-general  in 
order  to  reach  the  director  of  works,  thus  interposing 
another  obstacle  between  the  council  and  the  chief  arms  of 
the  operating  department,  such  as  the  Police,  Fire  Depart- 
ment, Transportation,  Landscape,  Mechanical,  Electrical, 
Sewerage  and  Water  Supply,  etc.  As  this  state  of  things 
would  have  been  intolerable  a  protest  was  made,  whereupon 
a  clause  was  added  authorizing  the  council  to  deal  directly 
with  the  director  of  works  and  his  chiefs  when  emergency 
should  require,  and  as  the  administration  of  an  exposition 
consists  chiefly  in  meeting  a  constant  succession  of  emer- 
gencies, this  latter  power  was  freely  exercised.  The  depart- 
ments of  Admissions  and  Collections,  which  had  been  placed 
tinder  the  Council  of  Administration,  were  by  that  body 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  233 

committed  to  the  chairman.  This  action  brought  the  super- 
intendents of  these  two  departments  in  closer  touch  with 
your  president,  enabling  him  to  cooperate  more  effectively 
in  removing  abuses  and  increasing  the  efficiency  of  their 
organizations. 

As  the  Exposition  approached  completion  two  facts 
began  to  call  forth  general  commendation.  One  was  the 
cleanliness  of  the  grounds,  the  absence  of  the  accumulation 
of  paper,  peanut  shells,  remains  of  luncheon,  and  other 
refuse.  The  other  was  the  superb  management  of  the 
waterways,  and  the  absence  of  any  accident  thereon  of 
even  trifling  importance.  The  condition  of  the  grounds 
was  due  to  the  rules,  the  vigilance  of  the  guards,  and  the 
work  of  the  Department  of  Transportation.  Only  shelled 
peanuts  were  allowed  on  the  grounds,  and  the  guards 
were  instructed  to  look  carefully  to  the  cleanliness  of  the 
grounds,  and  to  report  on  all  matters  needing  attention. 
The  Department  of  Transportation  nightly  policed  the 
park  with  a  garbage  service  of  fifteen  carts  with  steel 
dumping  boxes,  taking  up  the  janitors'  sweepings,  refuse 
from  restaurants,  etc.  Garbage  was  burned  at  a  crematory 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  grounds. 

The  waterways  and  the  margin  of  the  lake  adjoining 
the  Exposition  grounds  were  also  in  charge  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Transportation.  The  superintendent  of  waterways, 
Commander  F.  M.  Symonds,  U.  S.  N.,  was  an  officer  of  that 
department.  He  made  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
waterways  and  the  craft  plying  upon  them,  and  issued  a 
book  of  regulations  for  the  guidance  of  every  one  connected 
with  the  service.  Boats  used  for  concession  service  were 
required  to  fly  a  certain  kind  of  flag,  and  the  launches  of 
the  president,  the  director-general,  and  the  director  of 
works  were  each  distinguished  by  a  flag.  Under  Com- 
mander Symonds'  direction  great  vigilance  was  used  to 


234  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

prevent  accident  or  loss  of  life  upon  or  adjacent  to  the 
waterways.  One  or  two  lifeboats  were  stationed  in  the 
Grand  Basin  during  every  evening,  and  one  was  constantly 
on  duty  at  the  Woman's  Landing;  a  steam  lifeboat  patrolled 
the  lake  during  pyrotechnic  displays.  The  commander  and 
his  forces  were  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  congestion 
of  boats  or  of  people  at  the  water's  edge,  and  provided 
lifeboats,  expert  swimmers,  and  life  lines  whenever  the 
numbers  gathered  to  witness  entertainments  indicated  a 
liability  to  accidents. 

On  July  19,  1893,  a  terrible  fire  occurred  on  the  grounds, 
which  destroyed  the  Cold  Storage  Warehouse.  This  was  a 
large  building  of  wooden  frame  covered  with  staff,  and 
having  at  its  center  a  tower  through  which  was  conducted 
a  smokestack.  The  smokestack  was  in  use,  though  unfin- 
ished, and  on  one  occasion  previous  to  July  loth,  the 
woodwork  had  been  ignited ;  the  firemen  had  gone  into 
the  tower,  scaled  the  smokestack  and  put  out  the  fire. 
When  the  alarm  was  given  on  July  loth  the  situation 
appeared  no  more  threatening  than  upon  the  former  occa- 
sion. The  first  fire  company  that  arrived  proceeded  to 
scale  the  tower,  headed  by  their  captain,  James  Fitzpatrick. 
About  twenty  men  were  on  the  tower  with  a  rope  and 
hose  when  the  fire  suddenly  burst  out  below  them  and  cut 
off  their  retreat.  The  entire  interior  of  the  building  was 
burning,  and  there  was  no  escape  for  those  who  were  on 
the  tower  but  by  jumping  to  the  main  roof  below.  This 
they  did,  one  by  one,  before  the  horrified  throng  of  30,000 
spectators.  Some  were  carried  by  the  force  of  their  descent 
through  the  roof  into  the  flames  beneath ;  others  were  so 
crippled  that  they  could  not  escape.  One  man  slid  down 
the  burning  hose.  Captain  Fitzpatrick,  dying  from  burns 
and  injuries,  was  lowered  from  the  roof  to  the  ground  by 
some  of  the  firemen.  After  this  heroic  deed  the  men  had 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  235 

scarcely  reached  the  ground  when  the  roof  and  parts  of 
the  wall  where  the  ladder  had  rested  fell  in.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  building  was  consumed.  Fifteen  men  were 
killed  and  nineteen  others  were  injured  in  this  disaster. 
The  Medical  Department  and  the  ambulance  corps  aided 
promptly,  and  those  who  could  be  rescued  were  borne 
rapidly  away  to  the  hospital,  where  they  were  cared  for  as 
far  as  possible. 

The  eye  witnesses  of  this  horrible  catastrophe  gave 
evidence  of  their  sympathy  by  instantly  starting  a  contri- 
bution in  aid  of  the  sufferers.  A  few  minutes  later,  and 
before  the  building  was  reduced  to  ashes,  Byron  L.  Smith 
entered  your  president's  office  and  there  headed  a  contri- 
bution with  a  check  for  $1,000.  Several  thousands  more 
were  paid  in  at  the  same  place  within  a  few  minutes.  On 
the  1 4th  of  July,  the  io4th  anniversary  of  the  destruction 
of  the  Bastile,  the  French  marines  stationed  upon  the 
grounds  received  an  extra  day's  pay,  according  to  custom, 
and  this  money  they  generously  paid  into  the  relief  fund. 
The  gate  receipts  on  the  following  Sunday  were  added  to 
the  same  fund,  and  throughout  the  city  contributions  were 
made,  either  to  Mayor  Harrison,  to  Charles  D.  Hamill, 
president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  or  to  your  president. 
The  fund  reached  the  total  of  $104,138.02.  Every  case  of 
suffering,  from  injuries  received  or  through  the  death  of  a 
parent  or  relative  at  the  fire,  was  investigated.  A  portion 
of  the  money  was  paid  out  to  relieve  immediate  distress, 
and  the  remainder  was  placed  with  the  Illinois  Trust  & 
Savings  Bank,  in  trust,  to  be  used  for  the  support  of  the 
widows  and  the  education  of  the  orphans  of  those  who 
died.  No  words  can  describe  the  gloom  which  this  awful 
event  spread  over  all  the  city,  and  especially  over  the  man- 
agement of  the  Exposition. 

The  fire  was  due  to  defective  construction,  and  as  the 


236  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

building  was  erected  by  the  concessionaire  and  not  by  the 
Construction  Department,  the  defect  could  not  be  charged 
to  the  officers  of  that  department.  They  had  approved 
the  plans  and  had  relied  upon  the  concessionaire  to  carry 
out  the  plans  as  approved.  Except  in  this  case,  no  fire  or 
other  catastrophe  occurred  upon  the  Exposition  grounds 
because  of  defective  construction. 

The  Fire  Department  acquitted  itself  upon  this  occasion, 
as  upon  every  other,  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner.  It 
was  under  the  control  of  the  city  Fire  Department  and 
had  been  carefully  organized  and  trained.  A  private  fire 
department  had  been  organized  in  the  latter  part  of  1891, 
and  had  been  maintained  as  such  until  December,  1892, 
when,  at  the  earnest  request  of  the  Board  of  Fire  Under- 
writers, it  was  reorganized  under  the  Chicago  Fire  Depart- 
ment, of  which  D.  J.  Swenie  was  marshal.  Marshal  Swenie 
placed  the  fire  companies  upon  the  Exposition  grounds  in 
charge  of  Assistant  Marshal  Edward  W.  Murphy,  an  officer 
well  known  for  courage  and  skill  in  fire  service.  Mr. 
Murphy  continued  in  this  service  until  October  i,  1893, 
when  he  was  relieved  on  account  of  injuries  received  in 
the  service,  and  was  succeeded  by  Assistant  Marshal  P. 
O'Malley.  During  the  Exposition  season  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment was  composed  of  no  men  in  ten  companies,  seven 
of  them  being  fire  companies,  two  hook  and  ladder  truck 
companies,  and  one  stationed  on  the  fireboat  in  the 
lagoons.  Each  hook  and  ladder  company  was  equipped 
also  with  a  chemical  engine.  During  the  year  1893  the 
number  of  alarms  responded  to  on  the  grounds  was  ninety- 
two,  and  there  was  constant  vigilance  of  the  most  per- 
sistent kind  on  the  part  of  officers  and  men  connected 
with  all  branches  of  the  Exposition,  of  course,  particularly 
in  the  Fire  Department  and  the  Columbian  Guard.  Fire 
was  especially  feared  on  account  of  the  temporary  and 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  237 

inflammable  nature  of  the  buildings,  the  large  number  of 
visitors,  and  the  enormous  number  of  hastily  strung  elec- 
tric wires.  The  fact  that  no  disastrous  fire  occurred  in 
any  of  the  Exposition  buildings  does  not  in  the  least  dis- 
prove the  need  of  the  extraordinary  precautions  taken  and 
the  heavy  expenditures  incurred.  I  think  all  the  officers 
of  the  Exposition  agree  with  me  that  only  the  thorough 
preparations  made  in  the  Fire  Department,  the  Columbian 
Guard,  and  the  Department  of  Water  Supply  saved  the 
company  from  serious  disaster.  Incipient  fires  were  fre- 
quent occurrences,  and  often  more  than  once  in  a  day  the 
scene  would  be  enlivened  by  the  spirited  dash  of  an  engine 
across  the  Court  of  Honor,  and  companies  of  the  guards 
coming  on  the  double  quick,  in  fine  order,  from  all  direc- 
tions to  the  point  of  danger.  There  is  probably  no  branch 
of  an  exposition  where  money  can  be  so  profitably  expended 
as  in  securing  every  reliable  and  satisfactory  means  of 
preventing  and  quenching  fires.  The  amount  expended 
for  fire  protection  by  your  company  was  $311,246.71.  This 
includes  engine  houses,  fire  plant,  rent  of  apparatus,  extin- 
guishers, chemicals,  wages,  and  general  expenses.  The  loss 
by  fire,  exclusive  of  the  Cold  Storage  Warehouse  disaster 
— which,  as  has  been  shown,  did  not  fall  on  your  company — 
was  only  $1,730. 

As  I  am  now  approaching  a  subject  which  brought  the 
Exposition  into  the  State  and  Federal  courts  —  I  refer  to  the 
question  of  closing  the  Exposition  on  Sunday  —  some  refer- 
ence to  the  Legal  Department  is  necessary.  On  May  12, 
1893,  the  Board  of  Directors  elected  Director  Edwin  Walker 
solicitor-general,  which  office  had  been  vacant  since  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  Butterworth  in  April,  1892.  This  act  was 
in  recognition  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  also  in 
recognition  of  Mr.  Walker's  valuable  services,  and  of  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held,  both  for  his  personal  qualities 


238  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

and  for  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Exposition.  As 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Legislation,  Mr.  Walker's 
advice  had  been  sought  on  every  weighty  subject  involving 
questions  of  law  or  the  exercise  of  sound  judgment.  He 
had  always  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  and  of  its  Executive  Committee.  The 
attorney,  Mr.  Carlisle,  acted  under  the  direction  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Legislation,  and  upon  Mr.  Carlisle's  resignation 
in  the  spring  of  1893,  Mr.  Walker  undertook  to  reorganize 
the  Law  Department.  The  two  assistant  attorneys,  Charles 
H.  Baldwin  and  Joseph  Cumins,  he  designated  attorneys, 
and  assigned  to  each  a  portion  of  the  detail  work  of  the 
Law  Department,  with  instructions  to  proceed  under  his 
advice  and  direction.  Mr.  Walker  frequently  gave  advice 
and  assistance  to  the  Council  of  Administration  and  to  your 
president,  and  since  the  close  of  the  Exposition  he  has  borne 
a  large  share  of  the  labor  of  disposing  of  the  company's 
business.  He  still  has  in  his  care  a  number  of  suits  brought 
for  or  against  the  Exposition. 

The  question  of  opening  or  closing  the  Exposition  grounds 
on  Sunday,  which  had  been  persistently  agitated  for  over 
two  years  prior  to  May  i,  1893,  attracted  a  great  deal  of 
attention  during  the  early  weeks  of  the  Exposition,  and  in 
the  month  of  July  the  matter  passed  out  of  the  control  of 
the  Exposition  management  by  reason  of  the  action  of  the 
courts. 

This  subject  had  been  taken  up  by  various  religious 
bodies  soon  after  the  adoption  of  the  Act  authorizing  the 
Exposition,  but  its  discussion  in  the  Board  of  Directors  had 
been  prevented  or  postponed  whenever  possible.  With  very 
few  exceptions,  the  directors  were  in  favor  of  keeping  the 
Exposition  open  on  Sunday,  on  the  theory  that  many  would 
be  able  to  see  it  on  that  day  who  would  be  unable  to  spend 
the  necessary  time  on  a  week  day,  and  also  on  the  theory^ 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  239 

that  the  city  would  be  filled  with  strangers  during  the 
Exposition  season,  some  of  whom,  if  shut  out  of  the  Exposi- 
tion grounds  and  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  would 
be  likely  to  spend  their  time  in  an  unprofitable  manner,  and 
perhaps  swell  the  lawless  element.  It  was  conceived  by  the 
management  that  from  among  the  laboring  classes  and  the 
strangers  in  town,  an  attendance  might  be  expected  on 
Sundays  greater  than  that  of  the  week  days,  and  that  the 
result  of  keeping  the  Exposition  open  on  Sunday  would 
be  both  beneficial  to  the  patrons  and  profitable  to  the 
management. 

There  was  little  profit  in  the  Sunday  business,  for  as  a 
rule  the  attendance  was  less  on  that  day  than  on  the  pre- 
ceding week  days.  The  marvel  is  that  we  should  have 
looked  for  different  results.  That  the  opening  of  the  Exposi- 
tion on  Sunday  resulted  in  good  I  firmly  believe.  Many 
thousands  of  people  spent  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  day  in 
the  park,  not  so  much  in  viewing  the  contents  of  the  build- 
ings as  the  buildings  themselves  and  the  grounds.  There 
was  a  notable  absence  of  that  noisy,  rowdy  element  which 
our  critics  said  would  pervade  the  grounds  and  especially 
the  Midway.  Indeed,  the  concessionaires  upon  the  Midway 
found  the  Sunday  business  quite  unprofitable.  The  gather- 
ings were  mostly  in  the  Court  of  Honor,  where  seats  had 
been  provided,  from  which  the  view  could  be  enjoyed  with 
comfort,  while  the  bands  played  music  of  a  sacred  or  elevat- 
ing character.  Besides  the  Court  of  Honor,  the  Art  Building 
proved  most  attractive,  and  it  was  well  filled  and  often 
thronged  on  Sundays,  when  other  parts  of  the  grounds 
were  comparatively  deserted. 

Originally  the  Board  of  Directors  had  authority,  under 
the  Act  of  Congress,  to  make  a  rule  that  the  Exposition 
should  be  opened  or  closed  on  Sundays,  as  the  Board  might 
see  fit,  and  such  a  rule  would  have  been  subject  to  modi- 


240  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

fication  only  by  a  majority  vote  of  all  the  members  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Commission. 

Protests  against  opening  and  against  closing  on  Sunday 
were  filed  in  large  numbers  with  both  the  Commission  and 
the  Board  of  Directors,  and  also  with  both  houses  of 
Congress.  Certain  of  the  religious  organizations  took 
action  in  favor  of  closing  the  gates  and  others  in  favor  of 
opening  them,  while  others  remained  neutral. 

When  the  souvenir  coin  bill  was  pending  before  Con- 
gress, in  the  summer  of  1892,  the  opposition  to  Sunday 
opening,  which  was  very  active  and  well  organized,  ob- 
tained an  expression  from  Congress  in  favor  of  closing 
the  Exposition  on  Sundays.  It  is  questionable  whether 
the  subject  was  well  understood  when  the  vote  was  taken. 
It  was  represented  that  the  management  of  the  Exposition 
was  planning  an  assault  on  the  "American  Sabbath,"  and 
was  seeking  to  bring  people  within  its  gates  on  Sunday 
to  furnish  business  for  the  concert  gardens  and  "side 
shows"  of  the  Midway.  Owing  to  this  movement  the 
souvenir  coin  appropriation  was  made  subject  to  the  con- 
dition that  the  Exposition  be  closed  on  Sunday.  This 
provision  was  of  necessity  accepted  by  the  Board  of 
Directors,  the  members  believing  that  they  had  done  all 
that  the  situation  required  of  them  to  secure  the  opening 
on  Sunday,  unless  Congress  could  be  induced,  at  its  next 
session  in  the  winter  of  1892-1893,  to  revoke  the  condition 
which  it  had  imposed. 

Congress  failed  to  revoke  its  condition,  but,  as  has  been 
explained,  it  took  back  $570,880  of  its  souvenir  coin  appro- 
priation and  applied  it  to  another  object.  By  this  act  the 
Board  felt  itself  released  from  the  condition  relating  to 
Sunday  opening,  and  in  May  adopted  a  rule  that  the  Ex- 
position be  opened  on  Sundays.  This  rule  went  into  force 
on  Sunday,  May  28th,  on  which  day  the  paid  attendance 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  241 

was  77,212,  nearly  twice  the  average  for  the  previous  six 
days.  As  a  popular  test,  this  result  should  have  satisfied 
the  management,  but  at  this  time  we  were  looking  for 
much  larger  attendance  both  on  Sundays  and  on  week 
days,  and  because  the  Sunday  attendance  did  not  exceed 
100,000  we  were  inclined  to  doubt  the  advantage  of  keep- 
ing the  grounds  open  on  that  day.  Even  this  attendance 
on  the  first  open  Sunday  did  not  represent  the  legitimate 
Sunday  patronage,  for  many  attended  on  that  day  merely 
to  record  their  sympathy  with  the  movement  in  the  interest 
of  those  classes  whose  Sunday  could  be  made  bright, 
profitable,  and  wholesome  by  drawing  them  into  Jackson 
Park.  For  the  next  three  Sundays  the  attendance  ranged 
between  56,000  and  71,000.  Those  who  attended  seemed  to 
care  little  that  large  numbers  of  the  exhibits  were  cov- 
ered, or  that  the  machinery  was  not  in  operation,  provided 
they  could  enjoy  the  charming  view  of  waterways,  land- 
scape, and  architecture,  and  listen  to  the  music.  On  the 
first  open  Sunday  some  of  the  more  enthusiastic  patrons 
emphasized  their  position  on  the  Sunday  question  in  a  very 
happy  manner.  The  band  concert  was  opened  with  the 
music  of  the  hymn  "Nearer  My  God  to  Thee,"  and  those 
in  the  vicinity  caught  up  the  air  and  sang  the  hymn. 

Ministers  were  secured  and  services  were  held  in 
Festival  Hall  for  several  Sundays.  These  services  were 
well  attended,  but  were  condemned  by  some  of  those 
who  favored  closing.  Ministers  of  several  denominations 
declined  invitations  to  preach  on  the  Exposition  grounds. 
It  is  likely  that  many  attended  services  there  who  would 
not  have  done  so  outside,  and  many  more  came  to  the 
park  who  had  probably  attended  church  in  the  city ;  for 
thousands  entered  the  gates  on  Sunday  afternoons. 

As  time  passed  by  the  Sunday  attendance  grew  smaller, 
settling  down  to  a  steady  average  of  about  48,000  during 

16 


242  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

July.  As  there  were  comparatively  few  strangers  in  town 
during  July,  this  attendance  was  drawn  mostly  from  the 
city,  and  was  large  enough  to  be  beneficial,  from  the  stand- 
point of  those  in  favor  of  Sunday  opening,  to  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  people,  while  barely  large  enough  to  defray 
the  average  daily  cost  of  operating  the  Exposition.  The 
receipts  from  concessionaires  averaged  less  on  Sunday. 
This  is  the  best  evidence  that  the  evil  effect  of  Sunday 
opening  had  been  exaggerated,  and  that  the  attendance  was, 
to  a  large  extent,  from  among  people  of  small  means,  unable 
or  unwilling  to  visit  the  special  attractions  of  the  Midway. 
Even  the  restaurants  suffered,  for  the  people  either  came 
after  dinner  or  brought  their  luncheons  with  them. 

The  management  had  been  looking  for  larger  results 
from  Sunday  opening,  and  finding  the  attendance  less  than 
was  expected,  began  to  doubt  whether  the  majority  of  the 
people  were  with  them  in  this  movement,  and  finally  the 
directors  rescinded  the  rule  for  Sunday  opening.  Mean- 
while certain  stockholders  of  your  company,  anticipating 
this  act  and  wishing  to  keep  the  Exposition  open,  on  May 
2 pth  secured  from  the  Superior  Court  of  Cook  County  an 
injunction  restraining  the  management  from  closing  the 
gates.  At  the  same  time  proceedings  in  the  United  States 
District  Court,  inspired  by  parties  in  favor  of  Sunday 
closing,  resulted  in  a  temporary  order,  issued  on  June  8th, 
against  opening  the  gates ;  this  order  was  shortly  after 
vacated  by  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals. 
The  Exposition  remained  subject  to  the  order  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court  of  Cook  County,  requiring  that  the  gates  be  kept 
open  on  Sunday. 

The  management  was  by  this  time  thoroughly  tired  of 
the  agitation,  and  was  anxious  to  close  the  grounds.  Doubt 
as  to  the  proper  course  to  pursue  under  these  circum- 
stances, and  a  feeling  that  the  matter  could  probably  be 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  243 

best  brought  to  an  issue  and  laid  at  rest  by  attempting  to 
close  the  gates,  led  your  president  to  order  the  Exposition 
closed  on  Sunday,  July  23d.  He  was  assisted  to  this  con- 
clusion by  the  intemperate  denunciations  of  some  of  the 
advocates  of  Sunday  closing,  who  asserted  that  the  manage- 
ment, while  pretending  to  be  trying  to  close  the  gates  on 
Sunday,  was  really  in  collusion  with  the  stockholders  who 
had  secured  the  injunction  against  closing. 

Your  president  had  anticipated  that  if  any  unpleasant 
consequences  should  attach  to  his  act  in  ordering  the  gates 
closed,  these  would  fall  on  him  alone,  and  not  on  his  asso- 
ciates ;  hence  he  was  greatly  disappointed  when  the  court 
which  issued  the  injunction  attached  members  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  and  imposed  fines  on  them.  These  directors 
had  not  been  cognizant  of  the  president's  action,  and  were 
in  nowise  responsible  for  it.  The  directors  upon  whom 
fines  were  imposed  appealed  from  the  judgment  of  the 
court,  and,  upon  hearing,  the  Appellate  Court  reversed 
the  judgment  on  the  ground  that  the  court  which  imposed 
the  fines  had  no  jurisdiction  whatever  to  interfere  with  the 
management  of  the  affairs  of  your  company  by  its  Board 
of  Directors. 

This  ended  the  attempts  to  close  the  Exposition  on 
Sunday.  The  management  withdrew  its  efforts  to  make  the 
day  especially  attractive,  and  ceased  to  provide  clergymen 
for  services  in  Festival  Hall.  So  contradictory  had  been  the 
proceedings  that  the  public  was  in  some  doubt  from  this 
time  on  whether  the  gates  were  opened  or  closed  on  Sun- 
day, and  during  August  the  Sunday  attendance  fell  as  low 
as  18,000,  from  which  number  it  increased  slowly  to  over 
40,000  in  September,  and  during  the  last  four  Sundays  in 
October  it  ranged  from  82,000  to  over  150,000.  Usually, 
however,  the  Sunday  attendance  was  much  less  than  the 
average  attendance  for  the  other  six  days  of  the  same  week. 


244  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

As  the  exhibits  were  mostly  covered  up,  there  was  little 
to  attract  except  the  great  beauty  of  the  grounds  and  the 
treasures  of  the  Fine  Arts  Building. 

The  legal  aspects  of  this  controversy  are  full  of  interest, 
but  can  not  be  discussed  here  at  proper  length.  I  believe 
that  the  solicitor-general  has  treated  the  subject  somewhat 
fully  in  an  article  on  "The  Litigation  of  the  Exposition," 
prepared  for  "The  Bench  and  the  Bar  of  Chicago,"  Good- 
speed  Brothers,  publishers.  The  solicitor-general  went 
before  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  to  defend  the 
action  of  the  management  in  opening  the  Exposition  on 
Sunday.  A  few  days  later  he  defended  the  action  of  the 
management  in  closing  on  Sunday,  before  the  Superior 
Court  of  Cook  County.  The  apparent  inconsistency  of 
his  attitude  produced  some  merriment  in  the  press  and 
among  some  members  of  the  bar,  but  his  position  was 
maintained  in  both  cases.  The  suit  before  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  was  instituted  by  the  United  States 
district  attorney.  The  Court  of  Appeals,  Chief  Justice 
Fuller  presiding,  declared  that  the  United  States  had  no 
jurisdiction  whatever  to  interfere  with  your  company  in 
the  management  of  the  Exposition  grounds.  The  suit 
before  the  Superior  Court  of  Cook  County  to  compel  the 
opening  of  grounds  on  Sunday  was  instituted  by  a  stock- 
holder of  your  company,  and  the  Appellate  Court  of 
Cook  County  declared  that  a  stockholder  had  no  right  to 
interfere  with  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  your  com- 
pany by  its  Board  of  Directors.  Thus  your  company,  through 
its  Board  of  Directors,  was  left  free  to  make  such  rules  as 
it  saw  fit  for  the  management  of  the  Exposition  grounds, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  original  Act  of  Congress. 

The  Board  of  Directors  was  charged  with  bad  faith 
because  it  opened  the  gates  on  Sunday  after  accepting  the 
souvenir  coin  appropriation  of  $2,500,000  with  the  condition 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  245 

that  it  would  keep  the  gates  closed  on  that  day.  Those 
making  the  charge  ignored,  or  forgot,  the  fact  that  the 
first  breach  of  contract  was  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  that,  too,  under  such  embarrassing  circumstances 
as  to  seriously  damage  the  Exposition's  finances.  Nothing 
but  the  loyalty  and  public  spirit  of  Chicagoans  saved  the 
Exposition  from  irreparable  disaster  before  its  gates  had 
been  opened  to  the  public.  Attached  to  the  appropriation 
of  $2,500,000  were  several  conditions  of  great  importance, 
all  of  which  your  company  had  fulfilled.  The  first  Act  of 
Congress  providing  for  the  Exposition  required  your  com- 
pany to  raise  $10,000,000  for  use  in  preparing  for  holding 
the  Exposition.  This  had  been  done.  The  souvenir  coin 
Act  required  your  company  to  provide  whatever  sum 
might  be  necessary  in  addition  to  the  $2,500,000  thereby 
appropriated,  to  complete  the  Exposition,  the  total  cost  of 
which,  at  that  time,  was  expected  to  be  about  $19,000,000, 
but  which  afterward  proved  to  be  much  greater.  Your 
company  was  even  required  to  prove  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  that  it  had  actually  disbursed  $2,500,000,  in 
addition  to  the  original  $10,000,000,  before  it  could  receive 
the  $2,500,000  in  souvenir  coins  from  the  Government. 
After  this  condition  had  been  complied  with,  Congress 
diverted  $570,880  of  the  souvenir  coin  appropriation  to 
other  purposes  not  within  the  scope  of  the  duties  of  your 
company.  The  imposition  of  the  task  of  replacing  the 
sum  so  diverted  nearly  ruined  your  company.  Moreover, 
upon  the  credit  established  by  the  plain  terms  of  the 
souvenir  coin  appropriation,  and  the  other  resources  of  your 
company,  an  issue  of  $5,000,000  of  bonds  had  been  author- 
ized by  your  company,  and  nearly  $4,500,000  of  them  sold 
and  paid  for.  By  this  act  of  the  Government  the  security 
of  the  bondholders  was  injured  to  a  much  greater  amount 
than  the  amount  of  money  withheld;  in  fact,  the  security 


246  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

of  the  bondholders,  resting  in  the  solvency  of  your  com- 
pany, was  in  danger  of  being  totally  destroyed.  Another 
condition  of  the  souvenir  coin  appropriation  was  that  your 
company  would  pay  the  expenses  of  the  great  exhibit 
departments  organized  by  the  director-general  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Commission,  which  expenses  constituted 
a  heavy  drain  upon  your  company's  resources,  amounting 
in  the  aggregate  to  more  than  the  entire  souvenir  coin 
appropriation.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  so  far  from  there 
being  any  obligation,  moral  or  legal,  for  the  return  of  any 
moneys  received  from  the  Government,  there  was  a  debt 
due  your  company  from  the  Government,  morally  if  not 
legally,  for  moneys  expended  in  excess  of  total  require- 
ments imposed  by  the  original  Act  of  Congress  relating 
to  the  Exposition.  Moreover  your  company  always  showed 
itself  jealous  of  the  national  honor  in  connection  with 
'the  Exposition,  in  all  matters  requiring  outlays  of  money, 
and  this  feeling  increased  among  us  in  proportion  as  Con- 
gress proved  indifferent. 

In  the  first  part  of  July  the  attendance  and  receipts 
showed  an  improvement  over  those  of  June.  On  some  days 
of  the  latter  part  of  the  month  the  heat  was  very  trying, 
though  modified  and  made  more  tolerable  by  the  cool 
breezes  from  the  lake.  Many  feared  that  the  business  panic 
had  reduced  the  attendance,  and,  as  the  financial  condition 
of  your  company  came  to  be  better  understood,  great 
anxiety  was  expressed  lest  the  amount  realized  would  not 
be  sufficient  to  pay  the  floating  and  bonded  indebtedness. 
During  the  warm  weather  the  Exposition  was  most  charm- 
ing in  the  evening,  when  the  sultriness  disappeared  and  the 
gentle  winds  from  the  lake  made  the  park  a  most  attractive 
resort.  In  the  early  part  of  May  the  Exposition  was  practi- 
cally closed  at  nightfall,  because  of  its  incompleteness  and 
the  unfavorable  weather.  Later  in  May  the  grounds  were 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION.  247 

occasionally  kept  open  in  the  evening  and  open-air  concerts 
were  advertised.  As  the  attendance  increased,  the  park  was 
kept  open  every  evening,  and  in  June  was  fairly  well  filled 
until  9  o'clock.  As  the  popularity  of  the  Midway  increased 
it  became  thronged  with  visitors  every  evening  until  a  late 
hour,  and  finally  it  was  necessary  to  put  a  curb  upon  the 
rollicking  spirit  of  those  who  lingered  until  a  late  hour. 

In  July  the  evening  became  the  most  attractive  time. 
Usually  two  bands  were  stationed  in  the  Court  of  Honor, 
playing  alternately,  and  the  Court  was  filled  with  people 
resting  upon  the  benches  or  strolling  about,  enjoying  the 
charming  and  wonderful  scene,  listening  to  the  music, 
watching  the  swiftly  gliding  boats,  the  grand  fountain  play- 
ing, and  the  displays  of  the  electric  fountains.  Search- 
lights on  the  Manufactures  Building  threw  their  intense 
beams  now  here,  now  there,  on  the  grand  buildings,  or 
illuminated  the  groups  of  statuary  with  their  marvelous 
brilliancy.  At  other  times  a  band  was  stationed  on  the 
Wooded  Island  or  in  the  northern  part  of  the  grounds,  and 
usually  there  was  also  a  concert  at  the  band  stand  east  of 
the  center  of  the  Manufactures  Building  on  the  shore  of 
the  lake. 

One  of  the  many  charms  of  the  wonderful  night  aspect 
of  the  Exposition  was  the  contrast  between  the  inspiring 
activity  of  some  portions,  gay  with  music  and  moving 
thousands,  and  the  utter  solitude  of  other  portions.  While 
the  Court  of  Honor  was  filled  with  thousands  listening  to 
the  concert,  the  lake  shore  north  of  the  Peristyle  or  the 
Wooded  Island  might  be  entirely  deserted,  except  for  an 
occasional  visitor,  lured  from  the  throng  by  the  entrancing 
loveliness  of  the  scene.  This  contrast  was  even  greater 
between  the  north  lagoon,  with  the  Art  Building  mirrored 
upon  its  surface,  and  the  Midway,  just  a  little  to  the  west. 
On  the  one  hand,  whiteness,  silence,  and  the  shadows  of 


248  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

many  trees;    on  the  other,  the  glare  of  lights,  hurrying 
feet,  and  the  din  of  barbaric  music. 

To  the  visitor  the  Exposition  presented  at  this  time  its 
most  charming  spectacle.  Everything  was  in  the  first  fresh- 
ness of  completion.  Seldom  during  the  season  were  the 
vast  grounds  and  buildings  uncomfortably  crowded.  During 
the  evenings  of  July  the  throng  was  only  sufficient  to  lend 
spirit  to  the  scene,  never  so  great  as  to  cause  discomfort. 
To  the  management,  however,  there  was  but  little  of  pleas- 
ure to  relieve  the  toil.  The  hours  were  freighted  with  the 
cares  and  worries  of  a  great  burden  and  doubt  as  to  the 
final  outcome. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER  —  CLOSING  CEREMONIES. 

THE  month  of  August  opened  with  little  promise. 
During  the  first  few  days  the  attendance  did  not 
maintain  the  rate  of  July.    The  Exposition  was 
now  thoroughly  advertised  through  the  press  and 
by  the  reports  of  visitors  who  had  returned  to  their  homes. 
The  fame  of  its  beauty  and  of  the  wonders  which  it  con- 
tained had  gone  abroad.     Thousands  who  had  hesitated 
about  coming  began  to  realize  that  the  season  was  half 
over,  that  more  comfortable  weather  might  be  expected, 
that  everything  was  ready,  and  that  a  great  opportunity 
was  slipping  away. 

The  first  indication  of  improvement  came  on  Monday,  \/ 
August  6th,  with  an  attendance  of  90,354,  while  on  the  /\ 
preceding  Monday  the  number  was  71,138.  It  was  observed 
that  the  attendance  on  Monday  was  a  fair  index  of  the 
attendance  for  the  rest  of  the  week.  From  Monday  the 
numbers  gradually  rose  until  Thursday;  on  Friday  they 
diminished,  as  fewer  visitors  arrived  in  town  at  the  end  of 
the  week;  the  half  holiday  of  Saturday  increased  the  attend- 
ance on  that  day.  Hence,  when  a  decided  increase  was 
observed  on  Monday,  it  was  expected  to  continue  during 
the  next  few  days. 

As  illustrating  the  gradual  progress  in  attendance  during 
the  Exposition  season,  the  average  per  day  is  given  for 

each  week,  Sundays  being  omitted: 

(249) 


250  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

ATTENDANCE  AT  THE  EXPOSITION  BY  WEEKS. 


WEEK  ENDING. 

TOTAL  FOR 
WEEK. 

DAILY 

AVERAGE. 

WEEK  ENDING. 

TOTAL  FOR 
WEEK. 

DAILY 
AVERAGE. 

May  6 

202  125 

33,687 

Aug.  12.. 

663,917 

110,653 

13        .  . 

134,231 

22,372 

19  

775,052 

129,175 

30 

192  184 

32,031 

26 

986  068 

164,345 

27 

247,077 

41,179 

Sept.    2.. 

845,543 

140,924 

Tune  3 

343,097 

57,183 

9  

1,096,225 

182,704 

10  

477,069 

79,511 

16  

1,046,340 

174,390 

17 

660,916 

110,152 

23  

1,093,454 

182,242 

24 

646,415 

107,736 

30  

1,008,866 

168,144 

Tulv  1 
Juiy  i-. 

599,234 

99,872 

Oct.     7 

994  919 

165,820 

749,929 

124,988 

14  

2,026,903 

337,817 

15 

541,986 

90,331 

21  

1,648,849 

274,808 

22 

596  423 

99,404 

28 

1,427  481 

237,913 

29 

533,128 

88,854 

30 

211,102 

Aug.  5  

514,747 

85,791 

And  now  it  began  to  be  apparent  that,  after  laboring 
through  many  trials  and  in  spite  of  the  depressing  influ- 
ence of  the  panic,  financial  and  popular  success  had  been 
achieved.  The  vast  grounds  absorbed  the  great  gather- 
ings as  easily  as  the  smaller  ones.  The  difference  was 
perceptible  only  in  the  gate  receipts,  in  the  contentment 
of  the  concessionaires,  and  in  the  rollicking  spirit  of  the 
throngs  of  visitors,  and  of  the  operators  of  the  special 
attractions  in  that  noisy,  picturesque  strip  of  land  that 
has  passed  into  a  byword  and  a  pleasant,  amusing  recol- 
lection as  the  Midway. 

On  August  3d  the  Executive  Committee  authorized  the 
payment  of  an  installment  of  10  per  cent  upon  the  Expo- 
sition bonds  on  August  i7th.  During  the  first  three  months 
the  receipts  had  been  $ 4,230,979. 89;  the  operating  expenses, 
$1,822,672.37,  leaving  $2,408,307.52  to  be  applied  on  the 
floating  debt.  The  most  pressing  obligations  had  been 
discharged.  Most  of  those  remaining  were  not  yet  due,  or 
were  still  subjects  of  negotiation  and  adjustment.  It  was 
therefore  believed  that  in  the  payments  out  of  accumulated 
profits  the  bondholders  should  participate  as  well  as  other 
creditors.  A  much  better  feeling  was  aroused,  both  at  home 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  251 

and  abroad,  when  it  was  known  that  the  management  had 
taken  this  step.  The  total  bonded  debt  was  $4,444,500. 
The  payment  of  the  installment  involved  the  disbursement 
of  $444,450.  The  receipts  for  August  were  $2,337,856.25  ; 
operating  expenses,  $569,798.12, 'leaving  net  $1,768,058.13. 
Before  the  month  was  half  over,  it  was  seen  to  be  possible, 
besides  disbursing  large  sums  on  construction  accounts,  to 
make  another  payment  on  the  bonds,  and  a  second  10  per 
cent  was  authorized  to  be  paid  on  August  3oth.  As  Sep- 
tember opened  it  was  evident  that  the  receipts  of  the  Expo- 
sition would  pay  all  its  obligations  and  afford  a  surplus 
sufficient  to  close  up  its  affairs.  The  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
installments  of  10  per  cent  each  were  paid  on  September 
7th,  1 5th,  and  22d,  respectively.  On  September  29th  an 
installment  of  20  per  cent  was  paid,  and  on  October  9th, 
Chicago  day,  the  remaining  30  per  cent,  with  the  accrued 
interest,  amounting  in  all  to  $1,565,310.75,  was  paid.  This 
act  lent  additional  glory  to  the  greatest  day  of  the  Expo- 
sition. 

The  internal  organization  of  the  Exposition  had  now 
attained  a  fair  degree  of  efficiency.  Not  that  discordant 
elements  or  cumbrous  methods  had  disappeared,  but  sim- 
plicity and  directness  had  forced  themselves  into  the  situa- 
tion. Each  officer  was  familiar  with  his  duties  and  was 
prepared  for  every  emergency,  recognizing  the  objects  to 
be  attained  in  his  field  and  choosing  instinctively  the  most 
direct  methods  of  reaching  them. 

A  just  criticism,  frequently  uttered  during  the  first 
half  of  the  season,  was  that  there  was  a  lack  of  effort  to 
amuse  the  visitors  and  to  instill  life  into  the  vast  and 
beautiful  expanse  of  grounds  and  buildings.  There  were 
bands  and  band  concerts  on  the  grounds,  and  grand 
orchestral,  choral,  and  organ  concerts  in  the  music  halls, 
but  the  spirit  and  animation  of  the  Exposition  was  chiefly 


252  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

found  in  the  Midway.  The  entertainments  by  the  Expo- 
sition orchestra  and  chorus,  to  which  an  admission  fee 
of  $ i  or  more  was  charged,  were  poorly  attended,  and  the 
programs  were  criticised  as  of  a  character  too  severely 
classical  to  suit  the  holiday  surroundings  and  the  tastes 
of  people  exhausted  from  sight-seeing.  The  Exposition's 
magnificent  orchestra  was  disbanded  early  in  August.  It 
was  composed  of  excellent  musicians,  thoroughly  trained 
by  its  distinguished  leader,  Theodore  Thomas,  and  its  pop- 
ular free  concerts  in  Music  Hall  had  been  well  attended 
and  highly  appreciated. 

An  unfortunate  disagreement  had  arisen  in  the  latter 
part  of  April  and  the  early  weeks  of  May  because  of  the 
use  in  these  concerts  of  a  piano  of  a  certain  make  not 
represented  among  the  exhibits  in  the  department  of 
musical  instruments.  Mr.  Paderewski,  who  had  volunteered 
to  play  at  the  first  concerts  in  Music  Hall,  May  2d  and  3d, 
had  used  this  instrument,  although  its  use  on  the  grounds 
had  been  forbidden  by  the  World's  Columbian  Commission 
because  the  manufacturer  of  the  piano,  having  received 
an  assignment  of  space,  had  declined  to  use  it  on  account 
of  dissatisfaction  with  the  rules  of  the  Exposition.  Mr. 
Thomas  was  involved  in  this  dispute,  and  every  effort  was 
made  by  a  committee  of  the  National  Commission  to 
secure  his  resignation. 

The  Board  of  Directors  supported  Mr.  Thomas  through- 
out this  controversy.  This  trouble  occupied  much  time 
and  caused  considerable  public  discussion.  After  it  had 
somewhat  abated,  the  Executive  Committee  thought  it 
wise  to  discontinue  the  services  of  the  orchestra,  in  view 
of  the  necessity  of  reducing  expenses.  When  this  neces- 
sity was  communicated  to  Mr.  Thomas,  he  promptly  ten- 
dered his  resignation  and  assisted  the  committee  in 
settling  with  the  members  of  his  orchestra.  The  loss  of 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  253 

this  splendid  organization  was  keenly  felt  by  music  lovers, 
who  deemed  that  music  should  have  been  fitly  represented 
with  the  sister  arts  in  the  great  Exposition.  I  am  inclined 
to  the  opinion  that  a  great  Exposition  should,  if  possible, 
maintain  a  fine  orchestra,  capable  of  giving  a  few  concerts 
of  the  highest  grade  with  the  assistance  of  leading  vocalists 
and  instrumental  performers.  Such  an  orchestra  could  be 
divided  into  two  or  more  smaller  orchestras  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rendering  popular  music  in  the  open  air,  and  in 
a  partially  inclosed  building,  in  connection  with  a  well- 
organized  Department  of  Public  Comfort,  where  the  tired 
multitude  could  have  an  opportunity  to  rest  and  refresh 
themselves  in  the  intervals  of  sight-seeing.  As  the  attend- 
ance during  the  last  three  months  of  an  exposition  is  apt 
to  be  two  or  three  times  as  great  as  in  the  first  three,  it 
might  be  possible,  in  the  interest  of  economy,  to  confine 
the  heavy  expense  of  such  an  organization  to  a  season  of 
less  than  six  months. 

The  bands  have  already  been  referred  to.  There  were  at 
first  two,  and  subsequently  as  many  as  five  were  employed 
at  the  same  time.  These  bands  played  in  the  open  air 
under  the  direction  of  the  Bureau  of  Music,  rendering  excel- 
lent programs  and  contributing  largely  to  popular  enjoy- 
ment. In  the  evening  the  band  stands  in  the  Court  of 
Honor  were  surrounded  by  crowds  swaying  backward  and 
forward  from  one  stand  to  another  as  the  two  bands  alter- 
nated in  the  concert.  A  full  account  of  the  musical 
features  of  the  Exposition  is  given  in  the  report  of  the 
secretary  of  the  Bureau  of  Music,  George  H.  Wilson. 

Aside  from  the  musical  features  just  described,  there 
were  no  forms  of  popular  entertainment  in  the  grounds 
of  the  Exposition  proper.  There  were  no  means  of  dis- 
seminating information  as  to  the  special  program  of  the 
day,  except  the  newspaper  published  in  the  grounds,  the 


254  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Daily  Columbian.  Days  had  been  assigned  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ceremonies  to  various  organizations,  to  different 
States,  and  to  foreign  nations,  and  some  of  these  days  had 
been  observed  with  fitting  ceremonies,  contributing  not  a 
little  to  the  success  of  the  Exposition.  As  examples,  I 
may  name  Eulalia  day,  June  8th,  and  German  day,  June 
1 6th.  The  former  was  the  occasion  of  the  formal  visit 
of  the  Infanta  Eulalia  to  the  Exposition  grounds.  Aside 
from  these  two  occasions  few  of  the  special  days  during 
the  first  half  of  the  season  had  awakened  general  interest. 
What  was  needed  was  an  active  and  efficient  man,  charged 
with  the  duty  of  promoting  a  series  of  interesting  and 
amusing  functions,  for  which  the  picturesque  grounds  gave 
most  excellent  opportunity.  The  fertility  of  resource 
and  executive  ability  necessary  to  the  successful  discharge 
of  this  office  were  found  in  Frank  D.  Millet,  director  of 
decoration  in  the  Department  of  Works,  who,  in  July,  also 
became  known  as  the  director  of  functions.  At  the  same 
time  the  Committee  on  Ceremonies  was  discharged  and  its 
duties  were  delegated  to  the  director  of  functions.  The 
committee  had  rendered  valuable  services  in  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  dedicatory  and  inaugural  ceremonies,  the 
entertainment  of  the  Infanta  Eulalia  and  her  party,  of  the 
Duke  of  Veragua  and  his  family,  and  in  the  celebration  of 
German  day.  Several  members  sacrificed  a  large  portion  of 
their  time  in  this  service,  notably  Chairman  Lawrence  and 
Messrs.  Wacker,  Henrotin,  and  Revell.  This  department  had 
no  budget,  and  Mr.  Millet  found  it  necessary  to  apply  to  the 
Council  of  Administration  from  day  to  day  for  funds  with 
which  to  carry  out  his  projects.  Money  was  supplied  to  him 
by  the  council,  under  authority  of  the  Executive  Committee. 
Mr.  Millet  arranged  for  fireworks  in  the  evenings,  at  least 
twice  a  week,  during  the  remainder  of  the  season.  The  cost 
of  these  for  the  whole  Exposition  season  was  $128,141.13. 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  255 

On  June  lyth  Mr.  Millet  gave  an  example  of  his  talent 
for  organizing  picturesque  and  entertaining  displays  by 
sending  through  the  grounds  a  procession  of  all  the  special 
attractions  of  the  Midway — the  Bedouins  upon  their  steeds, 
the  donkeys  and  camels  with  their  riders  from  the  Cairo 
Street,  the  Javanese,  the  Chinese  with  their  huge  dragon, 
Indians  from  the  Western  plains,  inhabitants  of  the  Dahomey 
Village,  South  Sea  Islanders,  and  the  dancers,  swordsmen, 
and  other  queer  people  from  the  Turkish  villages.  This 
display  was  very  attractive,  and  the  visitors  who  saw  it 
spread  its  fame  everywhere,  to  the  benefit  of  both  the 
Exposition  and  the  concessionaires.  Disagreements  arose 
which  prevented  a  repetition  of  this  event,  but  many  of 
the  concessionaires  assisted  on  other  occasions. 

June  8th  was  noted  for  the  arrival  of  the  caravels  from 
Spain.  These  were  reproductions  of  the  vessels  comprised 
in  the  little  fleet  with  which  Columbus  made  his  first  voyage 
of  discovery.  They  were  built  in  Spain,  and  on  the  4oist 
anniversary  of  the  sailing  of  Columbus  they  had  sailed  from 
Palos,  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Victor  Concas 
of  the  Spanish  navy.  They  arrived  at  Hampton  Roads  in 
the  spring  of  1893,  took  part  in  the  naval  review  at  New 
York,  were  brought  through  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Exposi- 
tion, and  were  received  with  much  ceremony.  Subsequently 
they  were  formally  delivered  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  by  the  representatives  of  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. 

The  Viking  ship  arrived  a  few  days  later,  on  July  i2th. 
This  was  a  reproduction  of  an  old  Norse  ship  found  buried 
in  the  sand  upon  the  Norwegian  coast.  It  was  an  open 
boat,  ornamented  with  carved  work,  and  had  one  mast 
carrying  a  square  sail,  or  it  could  be  driven  by  oars.  Cap- 
tain Magnus  Olsen,  with  twenty  men,  sailed  in  this  craft 
from  the  coast  of  Norway  early  in  1893.  Like  the  caravels, 


256  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT, 

this  vessel  came  by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  lakes. 
The  strange  vessel  and  its  hardy  crew  were  received  with 
much  enthusiasm  all  along  their  route.  The  Viking  ship, 
as  it  lay  near  the  model  of  the  battleship,  was  a  great 
center  of  attraction. 

The  United  States  military  cadets  from  West  Point 
encamped  in  August  in  front  of  the  Government  Building. 
A  constant  throng  of  visitors  surrounded  their  camp  and 
witnessed  their  daily  parades. 

Free  concerts  were  given  in  Festival  Hall,  the  per- 
formers being  from  Lady  Aberdeen's  Irish  Village,  the 
Turkish  and  Chinese  theaters,  the  Hindoo  jugglers,  Indians 
from  their  encampment,  the  Alaska  Indians  upon  the 
South  Pond,  the  exhibitors  from  the  Ceylon  Pavilion,  the 
Javanese  Village,  and  the  cyclorama  of  the  Volcano  of 
Kilauea. 

Swimming  matches  in  the  lagoons  between  representa- 
tives of  different  nationalities,  canoe  and  boat  races,  com- 
ical aquatic  sports,  gondola  regattas,  a  procession  of  boats 
of  all  nations,  decorated  and  illuminated  boats,  pageants 
and  tableaux  of  historic  scenes,  balloon  ascensions,  para- 
chute drops,  tight-rope  walking,  races  on  foot  and  between 
dromedaries,  horses,  or  donkeys  on  a  track  improvised  at 
the  west  end  of  the  Midway,  tugs  of  war  between  different 
nationalities,  and  yawl  races  on  the  Lake  Front,  were 
among  the  means  used  by  Mr.  Millet  to  interest  and  amuse 
the  people.  In  fact  no  one  on  the  grounds  so  thoroughly 
understood  that  spirit  of  relaxation  which  it  was  necessary 
to  awake  as  did  Mr.  Millet,  to  whom  this  knowledge  was 
a  gift.  Better  than  any  one  else  he  understood  that  stiff- 
ness and  conventionality  would  ruin  even  our  beautiful 
Exposition  in  the  eyes  of  a  holiday  public,  and  that  those 
who  came  once  or  twice  to  be  instructed  would  come  ten 
times  to  be  amused. 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  257 

Small  bands  and  orchestras  were  provided,  and  singers, 
in  company  or  singly,  were  employed  as  opportunity  offered 
to  add  to  the  gayety  of  the  day  or  evening.  Illumination 
at  night  was  a  favorite  device.  Mr.  Millet  and  his  men 
often  labored  for  several  days  to  produce  some  new  and 
beautiful  effect  upon  a  certain  evening.  The  Wooded 
Island  was  frequently  used  for  this  purpose.  Most  charm- 
ing effects  were  produced  upon  it  at  a  trifling  cost  with 
a  few  colored  lights,  red  and  green  fire,  thousands  of 
little  candles,  and  ballets  of  a  semi-historical  character 
performed  upon  a  stage  slightly  raised  from  the  ground 
among  the  trees.  Except  as  to  fireworks,  the  total  expense 
of  Mr.  Millet's  functions  was  very  small. 

To  keep  the  public  informed  as  to  what  was  going  on, 
posters  and  signboards  were  used,  a  thing  which  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  Exposition  were  shuddered  at  as  undig- 
nified and  out  of  harmony  with  the  surroundings.  The 
following  is  a  sample  of  the  daily  programs  announced  by 
Mr.  Millet's  Department  of  Functions: 

TUESDAY,  September  igth. 

The  procession  of  boats  at  2.30  P.  M.  will  assemble  at  the  southeast 
landing  of  Wooded  Island,  then  pass  north  on  the  east  side  and  south 
on  the  west  side  of  Wooded  Island,  going  twice  around  the  island,  then 
disbanding  at  southeast  landing.  The  order  of  the  procession  will  be  as 
follows: 

One  whaler,  full  rigged  ship,  Captain  Hunt;  three  Spanish  boats 
from  the  caravels;  one  life-saving  boat;  one  whaleboat;  cruiser  "Illi- 
nois"; one  Rhode  Island  striker  boat;  one  gig,  the  Blake's  soundings 
boat;  one  Turkish  sandal;  one  Turkish  caique;  one  Hammerfest  from 
Norway;  one  Norwegian  fishing  boat;  one  Nordlands  baden  from  Norway; 
one  Hvidingsobaden  from  Norway;  one  Lofoden  Islands  fishing  boat; 
one  pleasure  fishing  boat;  one  dory  with  lobster  pots  from  Massachusetts; 
one  canoe  from  West  Alaska;  one  Klinket  canoe  from  Alaska;  two 
modern  skiffs  from  the  United  States;  two  outrigged  canoes  from  Ceylon; 
one  balsa  from  Ceylon;  two  Eskimo  kayaks  from  the  Eskimo  Village; 
two  Dahomey  canoes  from  Midway  Plaisance;  one  Egyptian  boat;  one 
ordinary  canoe;  one  Bragozza  fishing  boat  from  Venice;  one  Jungada 
fishing  raft  from  Brazil;  one  Canadian  fishing  boat;  three  St.  Lawrence 
skiffs,  anglers'  boats;  one  water  bicycle,  land  and  water  motor;  one 
17 


258  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

aluminum  shell;  three  canvas  folding  boats,  anglers'  boats;  one  yawl; 
one  Japanese  phenix  boat  with  net  casting;  one  Japanese  boat  with  fish 
balloons;  three  birch  canoes  with  Western  Indians;  two  birch  canoes 
manned  by  Penobscot  Indians;  two  native  boats  from  British  Columbia; 
one  dugout  manned  by  Iroquois  Indians;  one  kayak  from  whaler  "Prog- 
ress"; float  with  fishing  camp;  one  sturgeon  boat  and  sturgeon. 

The  Department  of  Functions  circulated  single-sheet 
posters  in  the  city  of  Chicago  and  towns  within  a  radius 
of  100  miles.  Three-sheet  posters  of  the  weekly  program 
were  put  up  on  billboards  within  the  grounds;  25,000 
illustrated  general  posters  were  sent  out  all  over  the 
country,  and  250,000  "dodgers"  were  sent  out  each  week 
to  the  different  railroads,  announcing  features  of  the 
Exposition  and  advertising  the  railroad  at  the  end  of  the 
sheet. 

Under  Mr.  Millet  was  a  corps  of  twenty-four  men 
known  as  the  emergency  crew,  who  had  their  mess  and 
lodgings  on  the  grounds  and  were  subject  to  call  by  day 
and  night  for  the  performance  of  any  duty,  no  matter 
how  hazardous,  such  as  climbing  heights  inside  of  great 
buildings  or  upon  the  roofs,  acting  as  firemen,  life-saving 
service  upon  the  lagoons  or  the  Lake  Front,  decorating 
buildings,  painting,  or  carpentering. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  special  days  which  were 
observed: 

Tuesday,  May  8th Catholic  Knights  of  America. 

Wednesday,  May  17th Norway. 

Wednesday,  May  24th Maine. 

Monday,  June  5th Denmark. 


Wednesday,  May  24th Maine. 

iday,  J 
Thursday,  June  8th Nebraska. 


Saturday,  June  10th Travelers  Protective  Association. 

Thursday,  June  15th Germany. 

Saturday,  June  17th Massachusetts. 

Monday,  June  26th New  Hampshire. 

Tuesday,  June  27th City  of  Brooklyn. 

Thursday,  June  29th Millers'  day. 

Tuesday,  July  4th Independence  day. 

Wednesday,  July  12th South  Dakota. 

Thursday,  July  13th Confectioners'  day. 

Friday,  July  14th France. 

Thursday,  July  20th College  fraternities. 

Thursday,  July  20th Columbia. 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  259 

Thursday ,  July  20th Sweden. 

Saturday,  July  22d Stenographers'  day. 

Wednesday,  July  26th Liberia. 

Wednesday,  July  26th Commercial  travelers'  day. 

Wednesday,  July  26th Turner  Bund. 

Thursday,  July  27th Caledonia. 

Wednesday,  August  3d The  National  Union. 

Thursday,  August  3d Russia. 

Friday,  August  4th Scotland  day. 

Wednesday,  August  9th Knights  of  Pythias. 

Wednesday,  August  9th Virginia. 

Wednesday,  August  9th. Izaak  Walton's  day. 

Thursday,  August  10th Louisiana. 

Thursday,  August  10th Wheelmen's  night. 

Saturday,  August  12th. Independent  Order  of  Foresters. 

Saturday,  August  12th Bohemian  day. 

Tuesday,  August  15th Ancient  Order  of  Foresters. 

Wednesday,  August  16th Haiti. 

Wednesday,  August  16th Dartmouth  College  day. 

Friday,  August  18th North  Carolina. 

Friday,  August  18th .Austria. 

Saturday,  August  19th British  Empire  day. 

Wednesday,  August  23d Buff alo. 

Wednesday,  August  23d_ West  Virginia. 

Wednesday,  August  23d Delaware. 

Thursday,  August  24th Illinois. 

Friday,  August  25th Colored  people. 

Saturday,  August  26th Machinery  Hall  day. 

Tuesday,  August  29th Poets'  day.    - 

Wednesday,  August  30th Grocers'  and  Butchers'  day. 

Wednesday,  August  30th Missouri. 

Thursday,  August  31st The  Netherlands. 

Thursday,  August  31st Ottoman  Empire. 

Friday,  September  1st. Nicaragua. 

Saturday,  September  2d Catholic  education  day. 

Monday,  September  4th New  York. 

Monday,  September  4th Labor  day. 

Monday,  September  4th International  Eisteddfod. 

Tuesday,  September  5th .International  Eisteddfod. 

Wednesday,  September  6th... International  Eisteddfod. 

Thursday,  September  7th International  Eisteddfod. 

Friday,  September  8th International  Eisteddfod. 

Wednesday,  September  6th  ..Wisconsin. 

Thursday,  September  7th Brazil. 

Thursday,  September  7th Pennsylvania. 

Saturday,  September  9th California. 

Saturday,  September  9th Utah. 

Saturday,  September  9th Grand  Army  day. 

Saturday,  September  9th Stationary  engineers. 

Saturday,  September  9th Transportation  day. 

Monday,  September  llth Silver  day. 

Monday,  September  llth French  engineers. 

Monday,  September  llth Veterans. 

Tuesday,  September  12th Veterans. 

Wednesday,  September  13th ..Veterans. 
Thursday,  September  14th  ...Veterans. 

Tuesday,  September  12th Maryland. 

Tuesday,  September  12th Colorado. 

Tuesday,  September  12th Shoe  and  leather  trades  day. 


260  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Wednesday,  September  13th. . Michigan. 

Wednesday,  September  13th. . Amateur  Athletic  Union. 

Thursday,  September  14th  ...Ohio. 

Friday,  September  15th Kansas. 

Saturday,  September  16th Kansas. 

Friday,  September  15th Costa  Rica. 

Friday,  September  15th Vermont. 

Friday,  September  15th Keeley  day. 

Saturday,  September  16th Railroad  day. 

Saturday,  September  16th Texas. 

Tuesday,  September  19th Fishermen's  day. 

Wednesday,  September  20th.. Fishermen's  day. 

Wednesday,  September  20th. .Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America. 

Wednesday,  September  20th. .Iowa. 

Thursday,  September  21st Iowa. 

Thursday,  September  21st Sportsmen's  day. 

Friday,  September  22d State  commissioners'  day. 

Saturday,  September  23d Knights  of  Honor. 

Tuesday,  September  26th Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Wednesday,  September  27th. . Indiana  day. 

Saturday,  September  30th Irish  day. 

Thursday,  October  5th Rhode  Island  day. 

Thursday,  October  5th Carriagemakers'  day. 

Saturday,  October  7th Polish  day. 

Monday,  October  9th.  _ Chicago  day. 

Tuesday,  October  10th Veteran  Firemen's  day. 

Tuesday,  October  10th North  Dakota. 

Wednesday,  October  llth Connecticut. 

Thursday,  October  12th Italian  societies. 

Thursday,  October  12th Spain. 

Friday,  October  13th Minnesota. 

Friday,  October  13th Trainmen's  day. 

Thursday,  October  19th World's  Fisheries  Congress. 

Saturday,  October  21st Manhattan  day. 

Monday,  October  23d Transcontinental  day. 

Monday,  October  23d .Chicago  trades  day. 

Tuesday,  October  24th Martha  Washington  day. 

Wednesday,  October  25th Marine  day. 

Friday,  October  27th Coal,  grain,  and  lumber  dealers'  day. 

Saturday,  October  28th Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

Saturday,  October  28th Cook  County  Odd  Fellows'  day. 

Saturday,  October  28th United  cities  day. 

Monday,  October  30th ..Columbus  day. 

The  most  notable  of  the  special  days  was  that  celebrated 
as  Chicago  day,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  destruction  of 
the  city  of  Chicago  by  fire  on  October  9,  1871.  The  deepest 
interest  was  manifested  in  this  event  in  the  city  and  through- 
out the  country.  None  of  us  will  be  likely  to  witness 
another  such  popular  movement  or  such  a  manifestation 
of  civic  patriotism.  In  the  city  all  business  was  suspended 
except  that  of  transporting  people  to  Jackson  Park.  The 
facilities  for  that  purpose  were  for  the  first  time  unequal 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  26 1 

to  the  task.    One  of  the  announcements  of  the  Department 
of  Functions  for  the  previous  week  was  the  following: 

The  Council  of  Administration,  in  view  of  the  half  million  or  more 
visitors  who  will  crowd  the  Exposition  grounds  on  Chicago  day,  October 
9th,  has  decided  to  postpone  the  cart-horse  exhibition  as  appointed  for 
that  date. 

Doubtless  those  who  framed  this  announcement  regarded 
it  as  something  of  a  jest.  No  one  seriously  expected  an 
attendance  of  half  a  million.  A  special  "Chicago  day" 
ticket  was  prepared,  bearing  upon  its  back  a  picture  of  old 
Fort  Dearborn;  a  coupon  was  attached  to  this  ticket,  to  be 
detached  by  the  ticket-taker  when  presented  for  admission, 
the  body  being  returned  to  the  visitor  for  a  souvenir.  The 
original  order  for  these  tickets  was  for  1,000,000,  but  the 
president,  in  the  interest  of  economy,  reduced  the  order  to 
600,000,  and  only  so  many  were  printed.  The  actual  paid 
attendance  on  that  day  was  716,880.  Apartments  and  res- 
taurants near  the  park  were  unable  to  provide  for  their 
patrons,  but  ample  accommodations  were  found  a  little 
farther  removed.  Every  suburban  railroad  running  into 
the  city  was  taxed  to  its  utmost  in  the  morning,  while  the 
lines  leading  to  the  Exposition  —  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road, the  cable  lines,  the  elevated  road,  and  the  steamboats 
—  could  not  carry  the  people  fast  enough.  The  Illinois 
Central  occupied  its  whole  roadway  of  eight  tracks  with 
Exposition  trains.  No  one  turned  back  because  of  the 
crowd.  Each  one  seemed  to  feel  that  he  must  get  to  the 
park  and  pay  his  admission  fee  as  the  evidence  of  his  loyalty 
to  Chicago  and  to  the  Exposition.  The  crowd  was  remark- 
able for  its  perfect  order.  While  this  can  be  said  of  every 
assembly  on  the  Exposition  grounds,  the  fact  was  made 
more  notable  at  this  time  because  of  the  immensity  of  the 
gathering.  In  spite  of  the  concourse,  there  was  little  dan- 
gerous crowding,  and  comparatively  few  cases  of  illness  or 


262  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

injury.     Only  fifty-seven   arrests  were    made   during  the 
day. 

The  following  program  was  announced  for  the  day: 

8.00  A.M.  to  5.00  P.  M... Exhibit  of  sheep  and  swine  at  stock  barns; 
judging  of  Merino  B.  sheep  and  Essex  swine 
during  the  day. 

9. 00  A.  M Columbia  Liberty  Bell  rings  for  Chicago  day. 

10.00  A.  M.  to  5.00  P.  M..."  Santa  Maria"  open  to  the  public  free. 
10.30  A.  M.  to  5.45  P.  M._. Battleship  "  Illinois  "  open  to  the  public  free. 

11.00  A.  M Songs  or  all  nations  by  Columbia  chorus  on 

Terminal  Plaza. 

11.30  A.  M Lineff  Russian  Choir  gives  concerts  at  Festival 

Hall. 

1.00  P.  M.  to  5.30  P.  M...Free  ride  on  "  John  Bull  Train"  at  Terminal 
Station. 

2.00  P.  M Organ  recital  at  Festival  Hall  by  Fred  Taft. 

3. 00  P.  M Exhibition  of  strength  at  stock  ring  by  Samson. 

3.30  P.  M Lacrosse  at  stock  ring  between  Iroquois  and 

Western  Indians. 


4.00  P.  M Concert  by  Columbian  Guard  at  Festival  Hall. 

day  pars 
Sixty-second  Street. 


6.30  P.  M Chicago  day  parade  of  floats  enters  park  at 


7.00  and  8.30  P.  M Electric  fountains  and  Grand  Court  illumination. 

7.30  P.  M ..Special  fire  works  on  Lake  Front  and  in  Court 

of  Honor.  Grand  illumination  of  Wooded 
Island  and  Midway  Plaisance. 

The  guard  on  this  day  numbered  1,556  men.  None  of 
them  were  permitted  to  leave  the  grounds  during  the  day. 
They  were  assisted  by  250  of  the  city  police.  The  open 
space  in  the  Court  of  Honor  before  the  Administration 
Building  was  the  point  of  greatest  concentration  and  was 
carefully  watched  by  the  guard.  The  guard  had  been 
previously  instructed  upon  every  imaginable  point;  they 
were  cautioned  to  avoid  making  needless  arrests,  and,  while 
exerting  strict  vigilance,  were  told  not  to  interfere  with 
the  people  unless  a  tendency  to  disorder  was  observed. 
The  entire  absence  of  such  a  tendency  was  one  of  the 
marked  features  of  the  occasion.  At  times  the  numbers 
in  certain  buildings  were  so  great  as  to  prevent  circula- 
tion and  the  situation  became  dangerous  through  the 
pressure  for  entrance  of  those  outside  who  were  not  aware 
of  the  condition  within.  In  such  cases  the  guards  refused 
admission  for  a  time  until  the  congestion  was  relieved. 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.          263 

The  crowds  diffused  throughout  the  grounds  remained 
without  apparent  abatement  during  the  whole  day  and 
evening,  although  many  visitors  withdrew  before  the  close 
of  the  afternoon.  Others  delayed  the  homeward  movement 
until  late,  with  the  hope  of  avoiding  the  crush  of  the  morn- 
ing. Thus  the  movement  from  the  park  was  distributed 
over,  a  period  two  or  three  times  as  great  as  that  occupied 
by  the  movement  in  the  contrary  direction,  and  all  reached 
their  homes  without  discomfort  or  danger. 

The  events  of  Chicago  day  thoroughly  tested  and  dem- 
onstrated the  efficiency  of  the  Columbian  Guard.  For  a 
full  understanding  of  this  organization  and  the  manner 
in  which  its  duties  were  performed,  the  report  of  the  com- 
mandant, Col.  Edmund  Rice,  should  be  consulted.  This  is 
attached  to  the  report  of  the  director  of  works,  but  it  is 
proper  to  notice  here  this  important  branch  of  the  admin- 
istration. 

Col.  Edmund  Rice,  U.'S.  A.,  was  detailed  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  for  duty  at  the  Exposition,  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  the  Columbian  Guard  to  preserve  order  and 
protect  property.  Previously  he  had  been  attached  to  the 
staff  of  Maj.-Gen.  Nelson  A.  Miles,  commanding  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Missouri.  Colonel  Rice  began  the  organization 
of  the  guard  during  the  winter  of  1891-92.  In  April,  1892, 
the  guard  numbered  164  men,  including  gatekeepers,  fire- 
men, and  three  officers.  In  June  the  number  of  men  had 
been  increased  to  250.  By  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August 
5,  1892,  the  Secretary  of  War  was  authorized  to  detail  other 
officers  for  duty  at  the  Exposition,  and  in  the  same  month 
Captains  F.  A.  Smith  and  Curtis  B.  Hoppin  were  so  assigned, 
the  first  taking  the  position  of  adjutant  and  the  second 
that  of  quartermaster.  The  adjutant  had  charge  of  all 
papers  and  the  issuing  of  orders,  and  acted  for  the  com- 
mandant in  the  absence  of  the  latter.  He  was  the  executive 


264  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

officer,  and  for  a  time  all  persons  arrested  were  brought 
before  him  for  a  preliminary  hearing.  Subsequently,  when 
his  duties  increased,  the  work  of  examining  persons  arrested 
was  done  by  the  officer  of  the  day,  and  the  adjutant  was 
further  relieved  by  the  appointment  of  First  Lieut.  W.  H. 
Gordon  as  assistant  adjutant. 

The  quartermaster  had  charge  of  the  equipment  of  the 
guard,  their  uniforms,  etc. ;  he  also  had  charge  of  the  wagons 
and  horses  owned  by  the  company,  the  purchasing  of  the 
horses  for  the  service  of  the  Exposition,  and  their  main- 
tenance. 

At  the  dedication  in  October,  1892,  the  active  force  of 
the  guard  stood  as  follows: 

Guard _ 11  officers    367  men 

Fire  Department 3        "  55    " 

Total 14        "         422    " 

On  Dedication  day,  in  addition  to  this  force  there  were 
650  police  on  duty  immediately  outside  the  gates.  From 
this  time  on  the  guard  was  recruited  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
with  due  regard  to  the  high  standard  of  discipline  which 
its  commandant  exacted.  By  March,  1893,  it  had  been 
increased  to  700  men,  and  on  May  ist  to  1,550  men  and  20 
officers.  Its  discipline  was  of  a  military  character.  It  was 
divided  into  a  number  of  companies,  each  company  com- 
manded by  a  captain,  who  was  usually  an  army  officer. 
The  military  drill  of  the  guard  consisted  of  one  half  hour 
three  times  a  week  in  the  "  school  of  the  soldier  "  and  "  com- 
pany without  arms."  In  addition  to  this  they  received  fire 
drill  one  hour  three  days  a  week.  Fire  drill  consisted  of 
the  use  of  portable  fire  appliances,  automatic  hose  reels, 
hose,  hose  carts,  and  hydrants,  the  intention  being  to  famil- 
iarize the  guard  with  the  duties  of  firemen  in  order  that  it 
might  assist  the  Fire  Department  in  case  of  emergency. 
The  highest  number  employed  in  the  guard  was  in  June, 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.          265 

1893,  when  the  force  numbered  2,064  men.  The  necessity 
of  economy  was  so  pressing  at  this  time  that  the  com- 
mandant was  ordered  to  reduce  his  forces  to  1,500  men,  but 
after  careful  consideration,  the  Council  of  Administration 
modified  this  order,  and  authorized  the  commandant  to 
maintain  a  force  of  1,700  men  in  the  regular  line  of  the 
guard. 

A  secret  service  force  of  205  men  was  employed  under 
the  superintendence  of  Capt.  John  Bonfield,  formerly  in- 
spector of  city  police  in  Chicago.  This  force  was  made  up 
of  men  appointed  by  the  chiefs  of  police  of  various  cities 
in  this  and  other  countries,  for  service  at  the  Exposition,  the 
theory  being  that  with  trained  and  experienced  detectives 
of  such  antecedents  it  would  be  easy  to  recognize  the  thieves 
and  sharpers  who  might  be  expected  to  gather  at  Chicago 
during  the  progress  of  the  Exposition. 

A  "special  service  corps"  of  sixty  men  was  made  up 
of  the  remnant  of  a  corps  of  guides  which  had  been  formed 
in  anticipation  of  a  demand  for  guide  service.  As  the 
demand  did  not  appear,  the  youths  who  had  been  trained 
to  meet  it  were  used  as  guards  wherever  possible.  In  some 
cases  guards  were  hired  by  exhibitors  who  desired  to  use 
extra  care  in  the  protection  of  their  property.  The  rules 
provided  that  such  guard  service  might  be  hired  at  $2.50 
per  day,  and  in  October  about  forty  were  so  employed. 

During  the  six  months  preceding  the  opening  of  the 
Exposition,  the  commandant  endeavored  to  raise  his  corps 
to  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency,  and  drilling  and  guard 
duty  were  carried  on  industrioiisly.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  cultivate  a  habit  of  constant  watchfulness  for  incipient 
fires,  and  each  infraction  of  discipline  was  promptly  met 
and  suitably  punished.  During  the  bitter  winter  guard 
duty  was  severe,  and  the  commandant  relates  humorously 
that  one  method  of  punishment  for  infractions  of  discipline 


266  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

was  by  requiring  the  culprit  to  do  service  in  the  southern 
and  most  exposed  part  of  the  park.  This  district  came  to 
be  known  as  "Siberia." 

During  the  Exposition  season  one  sergeant  of  each  com- 
pany acted  as  inspector.  The  inspectors  were  required  to 
report  daily  any  neglect  of  duty  or  other  matter  requir- 
ing attention  which  should  come  under  their  notice.  They 
were  required  to  observe  the  condition  of  the  grounds, 
fences,  sewers,  water  system,  buildings,  leaks  in  roofs,  broken 
electric  lights,  careless  use  of  tinners'  fire  pots,  stoves, 
salamanders,  carelessness  of  workmen  or  accidents  to  them, 
bad  condition  of  bridges,  condition  of  fire  appliances,  etc. 
They  were  required  to  inspect  the  appearance  and  discipline 
of  the  guards,  question  them  as  to  practical  knowledge 
of  the  grounds,  and  of  the  use  of  the  fire-alarm  boxes,  report 
any  discourtesy  to  visitors,  any  neglect  of  duty  by  firemen 
on  watch  or  janitors  working  at  night,  or  any  accumulation 
of  debris  or  of  inflammable  material. 

During  the  Exposition  the  guard  was  divided  into 
twenty  companies,  each  company  having  charge  of  a  specific 
district.  Sleeping  quarters  for  the  guard  were  provided 
in  most  of  the  large  buildings,  and  there  were  large 
accommodations  in  the  Service  Building,  where  the  office 
of  the  commandant  and  the  headquarters  were  located. 

When  the  guard  was  first  organized  the  men  were 
sworn  in  as  special  policemen  by  the  city  superintendent 
of  police,  but  later  the  director  of  works  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  Jackson  Park  and  the  Midway  Plaisance 
by  the  Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners.  This  enabled 
him  to  swear  in  the  members  of  the  guard  as  South  Park 
patrolmen,  which  gave  them  police  jurisdiction  within  the 
grounds.  Their  police  authority  ceased  at  the  boundaries 
of  the  park;  therefore  two  city  police  officers  were  always 
on  duty  at  the  headquarters  of  the  guard,  one  of  whom 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  267 

always  accompanied  the  patrol  wagon  as  escort  for  arrested 
persons  sent  to  the  police  station  at  Woodlawn  Avenue. 
From  fifteen  to  twenty  regular  army  officers  were  always 
on  duty  at  the  park  during  the  Exposition  season.  One 
of  these  officers,  as  officer  of  the  day,  was  always  on  duty 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  guard,  ready  to  act  in  any 
emergency. 

The  utmost  vigilance  prevailed  in  guarding  against 
fire,  the  inflammable  nature  of  the  buildings  being  such 
as  to  cause  constant  anxiety  in  all  minds.  The  large  force 
of  janitors  was  subject,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  the  officers 
of  the  guard,  and  was  drilled  in  fire  duties.  Many  of  the 
janitors  took  service  with  exhibitors  and  concessionaires, 
to  whom  their  knowledge  of  fire  duty  was  likely  to  be 
advantageous. 

On  the  whole  the  Columbian  Guard  was  a  most  satis- 
factory arm  of  the  service.  Its  officers  were  gentlemen 
of  culture  and  refinement,  yet  strict  disciplinarians  and 
accustomed  to  command  men.  The  guards  were  chosen 
for  their  strength,  activity,  good  appearance,  and  intelli- 
gence. Their  rather  slight  proportions  caused  them  to 
look  less  formidable  than  the  averge  heavy-weight  police- 
man, but  they  were  capable  of  greater  endurance  and  were 
far  more  active  than  the  ordinary  city  police.  I  can  recall 
no  instance  of  fire  or  other  danger  when  the  guard  failed  to 
show  a  high  degree  of  efficiency,  nor  any  occasion  that  their 
firmness,  patience,  and  courtesy  was  not  fully  equal  to. 

As  has  been  observed  before,  there  was  a  lack  of 
cooperation  between  the  guard  and  the  departments  of 
Admissions  and  Collections,  so  that  these  latter  departments 
frequently  could  not  rely  upon  the  guard  when  necessary, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  were  subject  to  their  interfer- 
ence. I  am  inclined  to  think  that  as  between  the  Depart- 
ment of  Admissions  and  the  guard  there  was  a  lack  of 


268  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

discretion  on  the  part  of  certain  officers  in  both  bodies. 
The  trouble  was  probably  not  with  the  system,  but  with 
individuals.  In  the  case  of  the  Department  of  Collections, 
much  complaint  was  received  that  the  guard  could  not  be 
made  to  assist  in  keeping  concessionaires  in  wholesome 
respect  of  the  departmental  rules.  This  may  have  been 
due  to  the  semi-military  character  of  the  organization  and 
the  unwillingness  of  officers  and  men  to  perform  certain 
forms  of  police  duty,  their  reluctance  to  receive  orders 
except  from  their  immediate  superiors  in  their  own  service. 
Thus  the  agent  of  the  Department  of  Collections,  endeavor- 
ing to  bring  refractory  concessionaires  to  terms,  might  find 
the  Columbian  Guard  looking  on  with  cool  indifference 
when  a  little  assistance  would  have  been  of  great  service. 
The  contracts  with  concessionaires  gave  the  Exposition 
power  to  enforce  its  rules  and  to  prescribe  the  methods  for 
auditing  business.  The  arm  of  the  service  through  which 
these  rules  should  have  been  enforced  was,  of  course,  the 
Columbian  Guard,  while,  in  fact,  its  aid  was  very  meager. 
There  should  have  been  the  closest  possible  cooperation 
between  the  superintendents  of  Admissions  and  Collections 
and  the  commandant  of  the  guard.  The  superintendents 
should  have  been  able  to  obtain  prompt  attention  and  quick 
action  from  him  or  any  of  his  officers  at  any  moment.  This 
one  thing  I  was  never  able  to  bring  about,  by  any  means, 
but  under  similar  circumstances  it  should  be  insisted  upon 
as  a  sine  qua  non,  even  though  the  consequences  might  be 
the  removal  of  the  semi-military  character  of  the  guard, 
which  was  so  attractive  and,  for  some  purposes,  so  very 
efficient. 

After  the  Exposition  was  closed  the  guard  was  reduced 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  A  considerable  reduction  was  made 
at  once,  for,  though  the  necessity  of  guarding  exhibits  was 
greater  than  ever,  the  crowds  of  visitors  had  disappeared 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  269 

and  the  work  of  preserving  order  was  considerably  lessened. 
As  fast  as  buildings  were  cleared  of  exhibits,  guards  were 
discharged,  and  the  service  was  finally  discontinued  in  May, 
1894.  A  remnant  of  the  picturesque  Columbian  Guard 
remains  at  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  where  the  guards 
wear  the  well-known  uniform. 

The  attendance  for  the  week  beginning  on  Chicago 
day,  Monday,  October  pth,  was  the  largest  of  the  Expo- 
sition. It  was  as  follows: 

October  9th..  ..  716,881 

October  10th 309,294 

October  llth 309,277 

October  12th 275,217 

October  13th 215,343 

October  14th 200,891 

For  the  rest  of  the  month  the  attendance  ran  from 
200,000  to  300,000  a  day.  Even  in  the  midst  of  these  large 
numbers  it  was  quite  possible  to  enjoy  the  Exposition, 
for  the  great  extent  of  the  grounds  made  congestion  very 
unusual. 

On  October  nth  the  directors  gave  a  banquet  to  the 
commissioners  of  the  foreign  nations  represented  at  the 
Exposition.  Elaborate  preparations  were  made  for  this 
occasion,  which  was  intended  to  be  the  crowning  social 
event  of  the  Exposition,  just  as  the  Chicago  day  celebra- 
tion had  been  the  principal  popular  demonstration.  The 
representatives  of  the  nations  had  not,  up  to  that  time,  been 
gathered  together  as  the  guests  of  the  management  of  the 
Exposition,  although  numerous  banquets  and  other  enter- 
tainments had  been  taking  place  daily  for  many  months. 
The  commissioners  of  the  different  nations  had  entertained 
each  other  and  the  officers  and  directors  of  the  Exposition, 
and  the  commissioners  of  the  several  States  had  enter- 
tained each  other  and  the  officers  and  foreign  commission- 
ers. The  foreign  commissioners  had  usually  observed  their 
national  holidays  or  the  birthdays  of  their  rulers  in  this 


270  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

manner.  The  British  royal  commissioners  and  the  com- 
missioners from  the  British  colonies  had  given  a  banquet 
in  honor  of  the  queen's  birthday  at  the  Virginia  Hotel, 
and  this  was  attended  by  officers  and  directors  of  the 
Exposition,  members  of  the  National  Commission,  foreign 
commissioners,  and  commissioners  of  the  several  States. 
The  national  commissioners  had  also  given  a  banquet  to 
their  president  at  the  Auditorium,  at  which  all  of  the 
various  great  interests  of  the  Exposition  were  represented. 
It  was  not  possible  for  your  officers  to  attend  all  of  these 
functions,  but  their  absence  was  always  pardoned  on 
account  of  the  pressure  of  other  duties.  Nevertheless, 
a  more  thorough  observance  of  social  courtesies  would 
have  been  highly  creditable  to  our  city,  and  I  would  recom- 
mend systematic  and  punctilious  regard  for  such  matters 
in  an  exposition  of  this  kind.  By  this  means  personal 
acquaintance  and  friendly  regard  are  fostered  and  business 
arrangements  between  the  various  interests  represented 
in  an  exposition  can  be  subserved.  The  management  of 
our  Exposition  should  have  entertained  earlier  in  the 
season,  and  not  once  but  several  times. 

The  directors'  banquet  was  too  large  to  be  a  perfect 
success.  It  was  attended  by  several  hundred  guests.  The 
pressure  for  invitations  was  very  great,  and  much  difficulty 
was  experienced  in  any  attempt  to  limit  the  number. 
Nevertheless,  the  commissioners  of  the  nations,  whom  it 
was  intended  to  honor,  could  have  been  more  suitably 
entertained  in  a  less  numerous  gathering.  Every  effort 
was  put  forth  to  make  the  banquet  the  most  brilliant  of 
the  season.  The  directors  appointed  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Messrs.  Walker,  Henrotin,  Ellsworth,  Scott,  Revell,  and 
the  president  and  director-general,  to  take  charge  of  this 
entertainment.  It  was  decided  that  it  be  held  in  Music 
Hall,  the  floor  of  which  was  raised  so  as  to  make  a  con- 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  271 

tinuation  of  the  stage  the  entire  length  of  the  room.  The 
hemicycle  at  the  back  of  the  stage  was  filled  with  banks 
of  foliage,  palms,  rubber  plants,  magnolias,  etc.  A  canopy 
was  formed  of  long  yellow  and  white  draperies  extending 
from  behind  these  plants  up  to  the  proscenium,  and  beneath, 
arching  this  canopy,  the  flags  of  the  forty-eight  nations 
represented  at  the  banquet  hung  in  a  semicircle,  with  the 
flag  of  our  country  in  the  center.  Rows  of  incandescent 
lamps  in  various  colors  were  placed  along  the  edges  of 
the  galleries;  ferns  and  other  plants  and  flowers  were 
distributed  about  the  room  at  frequent  intervals.  Oak 
boughs  were  festooned  about  all  the  columns  from  top 
to  bottom.  The  sixteen  arches  were  similarly  treated,  and 
behind  and  beneath  these  arches  were  hung  large  flags 
of  the  various  nations  represented.  The  shape  of  this 
beautiful  hall  lent  itself  to  the  purpose,  and  its  fine 
ornamental  work  and  colors  heightened  the  effect. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  graceful  and 
charming  setting  than  that  of  the  directors'  banquet. 
Tables  of  many  shapes  and  sizes  were  arranged,  completely 
filling  the  room,  the  aim  being  to  make  all  the  tables  of 
equal  prominence.  Roses  and  ferns  in  profusion  were 
used  to  decorate  these  tables.  Each  table  was  presided 
over  by  an  officer  or  ex-officer  of  the  Exposition.  At  one, 
your  president  presided,  with  President  Palmer,  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Commission,  at  his  side.  Others  were 
presided  over  by  ex- Presidents  Lyman  J.  Gage  and  William 
T.  Baker,  Director-General  George  R.  Davis,  Vice-President 
Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  Second  Vice-President  Robert  A.  Waller, 
and  Director  of  Works  Daniel  H.  Burnham.  The  following 
is  the  list  of  toasts: 

Salutation,  Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  president  World's  Columbian 
Exposition. 

"President  of  the  United  States  and  Rulers  of  Other  Nations," 
Thomas  W.  Palmer,  president  World's  Columbian  Commission. 


272  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

"The  Birth  ot  the  Exposition,"  Lyman  J.  Gage,  ex-president  World's 
Columbian  Exposition. 

"  Design  of  the  Exposition,"  Daniel  H.  Burnham,  director  of  works. 

"Great  Britain  and  Her  Colonies — Canada,  Ceylon,  Cape  Colony, 
British  Guiana,  Jamaica,  New  South  Wales,  Trinidad,"  Florence  O'Dris- 
coll,  M.  P.,  royal  British  commissioner. 

"  Illinois,"  Governor  John  P.  Altgeld. 

"The  German  Empire,"  Dr.  Max  Richter,  imperial  representative 
commissioner. 

"  City  of  Chicago,"  Mayor  Carter  H.  Harrison. 

"The  French  Republic,"  Edmond  Bruwaert,  consul-general  and 
acting  commissioner-general. 

"The  Development  of  the  Exposition," W.  T.  Baker,  ex-president 
World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

"The  Russian  Empire,"  C.  Ragousa-Soustchevsky,  acting  com- 
missioner-general . 

"The  Kingdom  of  Spain,"  E.  Dupuy  de  Lome,  minister  plenipo- 
tentiary and  royal  commissioner-general. 

"  The  Closing  Days  of  the  Exposition,"  George  R.  Davis,  director- 
general  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

"The  Austrian  Empire,"  Anton  von  Palitschek-Palmforst,  imperial 
royal  consul  and  commissioner-general. 

"The  Kingdom  of  Italy,"  Marquis  Enrico  Ungaro. 

"The  Executive  Commissioners  of  the  States  of  the  Union," 
Edward  C.  Hovey,  vice-president  National  Association  of  Executive 
Officers. 

"The  Future  Influence  of  the  Exposition,"  Harlow  N.  Higin- 
botham,  president  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

The  galleries  had  been  arranged  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  ladies,  who,  from  this  point,  could  overlook  the 
scene  below  and  listen  to  the  responses  to  the  various 
toasts.  The  guests  were  conveyed  to  the  Exposition  grounds 
by  two  trains,  which  left  Central  Station  at  Twelfth  Street 
at  6  and  7  o'clock;  the  second  train  conveyed  the  ladies. 
Owing  to  the  size  of  the  hall  and  the  many  guests,  it  was 
not  possible  to  evoke  that  enthusiasm  and  unity  of  hearts 
and  minds  which  is  the  highest  test  of  the  success  of  an 
entertainment  of  this  kind.  At  times  confusion  prevailed. 
Speeches  could  not  be  satisfactorily  delivered  nor  distinctly 
heard  from  all  points.  Moreover,  there  were  no  facilities 
for  serving  a  banquet  in  the  building.  A  temporary  kitchen, 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.  273 

with  appliances  for  serving  several  hundred  guests,  had  to 
be  provided,  and  the  result  was  not  satisfactory. 

Notwithstanding  these  drawbacks,  the  memory  of  that 
beautiful  hall  and  brilliant  assemblage  will  not  soon  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  participated  in  it. 

To  the  management  the  latter  days  brought  a  sense 
of  great  relief,  with  a  feeling  of  extreme  weariness.  The 
debts  were  paid  and  there  was  a  surplus  sufficient  to  pay 
all  expenses  of  closing,  with  a  million  dollars  besides  to 
return  to  the  stockholders.  The  work  was  done.  There 
was  no  more  rush  or  hurry,  for  the  battle  was  over.  Never- 
theless there  was  sadness  in  every  heart  as  it  became 
realized  that  the  great  Exposition  was  to  be  closed  and 
removed,  and  that  the  waste  place  which  had  blossomed 
and  grown  so  beautiful  would  soon  become  almost  as  barren 
as  it  had  been  at  first.  Fortunate  as  the  Exposition  had 
been  as  to  beautiful  weather,  the  month  of  October  was 
its  crowning  glory.  There  was  a  slight  coolness  in  the 
air,  enough  to  make  exertion  pleasant;  the  sky  was  blue 
and  the  lake  more  blue;  the  white  city  was  bathed  in 
purest  sunshine  beneath  its  hundreds  of  floating  banners, 
as  the  great  enterprise  came  to  its  closing  day. 

Preparations  had  been  made  for  suitable  ceremonies  in 
Festival  Hall  according  to  the  following  program: 

1.  Music. 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Address  by  the  president  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

4.  Music. 

5.  Address  by  the  director-general. 

6.  Music. 

7.  Address  by  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers. 

8.  Music. 

9.  Presentation  of  awards  that  have  been  submitted  to  and  approved 
by  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  to  foreign  exhibitors,  by  the 
chairman  or  vice-chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Awards. 

10.  Address  by  a  representative  of  foreign  nations. 

n.   Presentation    of   awards   that   have  been    submitted   to   and 
18 


274  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

approved  by  the  World's  Columbian  Commission  to  American  exhib- 
itors. 

12.  Address  by  a  representative  of  American  exhibitors. 

13.  Music. 

14.  Address  by  a  representative  of  the  State  commissioners. 

15.  Remarks  by  the  president  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission 
and  closing  of  the  Exposition. 

16.  "Auld  Lang  Syne"  sung  by  the  audience,  directed  by  Mr. 
Tomlins. 

17.  Benediction. 

Open-air  entertainments  were  provided  as  follows: 

A  national  salute  at  sunrise,  at  noon,  and  at  sunset. 

A  representation  of  the  landing  of  Columbus,  on  the  lake  shore. 

Daylight  fireworks  at  noon. 

A  great  band  concert  from  2.30  to  4.30,  in  the  Administration  Plaza. 

An  illumination  of  the  grounds  and  buildings  during  the  evening, 
with  a  grand  display  of  fireworks  on  the  lake  shore  and  in  the  Court 
of  Honor. 

On  Saturday  night,  October  28th,  an  event  occurred 
which  changed  these  plans  entirely  and  caused  the  Expo- 
sition to  close  in  the  shadow  of  a  great  tragedy.  Hon. 
Carter  H.  Harrison,  the  mayor  of  the  city  and  a  member 
of  your  body,  was  assassinated  at  his  home  at  about  8  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  law  had  fixed  October  3oth  as  the 
day  for  closing,  but  on  this  day  the  flags  were  at  half-mast 
and  the  bands  played  only  solemn  music.  At  noon  the 
officers  of  the  Exposition  and  of  the  Commission,  with  the 
directors  and  commissioners,  assembled  on  the  platform 
of  the  Festival  Hall,  and  with  them  came  the  represent- 
atives of  the  various  nations.  The  public  was  admitted 
to  the  extent  of  the  accommodation  of  the  hall. 

President  Palmer  opened  the  ceremonies  with  the  fol- 
lowing remarks: 

It  was  intended  that  the  proceedings  of  to-day  should  be  of  a 
joyous  character;  that  the  closing  ceremonies  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  of  1892  and  1893  should  be  attended  with  festivities,  the 
firing  of  cannon,  the  music  of  bands,  the  making  of  addresses,  and  with 
song.  But  a  terrible  tragedy  has  intervened  and  has  made  this  day, 
which  we  proposed  to  have  a  day  of  jubilee,  a  day  of  mourning.  The 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER.          275 

mayor  of  this  city,  who  has  done  so  much  to  create  this  Exposition,  has 
been  shot  down,  assassinated  in  the  portals  of  his  home.  He  was  a  man 
whose  heart  beat  responsive  to  every  pulsation  of  this  great  interna- 
tional gathering,  and  in  view  of  this  catastrophe  it  has  been  deemed 
fitting  that  the  elaborate  program  should  be  omitted  and  that  the 
exercises  should  comprehend  only  prayer,  the  submission  of  some  reso- 
lution of  respect,  regard,  and  condolence,  then  only  two  or  three 
announcements,  and  the  closing  of  our  ceremonies  by  the  benediction. 

Prayer  was  then  offered  by  the  Rev.  Doctor  Barrows  of 
Chicago,  after  which  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions 
presented  by  your  president  were  adopted: 

A  deep  and  heartfelt  sorrow  has  fallen  on  the  closing  hours  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition.  Death,  come  as  it  may,  leaves  as  a 
heritage  to  the  living  mental  pain  and  suffering,  immeasurably  intensi- 
fied when  its  agency  is  a  cowardly  and  infamous  assassin. 

Nothing  has  ever  occurred  in  our  midst  that  has  so  disturbed  and 
distressed  our  citizens  as  the  very  wicked  and  wanton  termination  of  the 
life  of  Hon.  Carter  H.  Harrison.  In  the  vigor  of  life,  in  the  possession 
of  a  full  measure  of  health  and  strength,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  all,  in  the  quiet  evening  of  a  day  with  its  duties 
done,  he  sought  rest  only  to  be  aroused  by  the  rude  entrance  of  an 
assassin  bent  on  his  destruction  for  a  grievance  wholly  imaginary.  The 
tranquillity  of  the  city  has  been  shaken  as  if  by  an  earthquake.  The 
officials  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  the  commissioners  of  the 
several  States,  mourn  the  loss  of  an  honored  official,  and  lay  on  the  altar, 
preserved  and  kept  sacred  to  his  memory  in  the  hearts  of  all  his  friends, 
this  humble  tribute  of  respect  and  admiration. 

Speaking  for  all  here  assembled,  representatives  of  the  various 
interests  that  have  made  this  Exposition  so  grandly  successful  in  both 
its  national  and  its  international  character,  we  claim  Carter  H.  Harrison 
was  something  more  than  the  chief  magistrate  of  this  metropolitan  city. 
As  a  director  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  he  at  all  times 
sought  to  impress  on  the  Exposition  its  true  national  and  international 
character,  and  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  it  was  promoted  by,  and  in  the 
interest  of,  the  people  of  all  the  world.  As  chief  magistrate  of  the  city, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  providing  accessories  commensurate  with  the 
full  scope  of  the  Exposition,  and  the  care  and  entertainment  of  all  who 
came  at  the  invitation  of  the  National  Government,  he  has  been  at  all 
times  generous  in  personal  and  official  hospitality. 

To  all  our  friends,  without  distinction  of  race  or  nationality,  his 
welcome  has  been  cordial,  generous,  and  unstinted.  No  official  has 
done  more  to  impress  on  the  Exposition  its  true  character  of  generous 
rivalry  among  nations  and  individuals  in  all  things  that  tend  to  national 
prosperity  and  international  brotherhood,  and  none  in  his  representative 


276  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

capacity  could  have  more  thoroughly  attested  the  generous  hospitality 
of  this  city,  whose  chief  magistrate  he  was. 

While  we  admire  and  honor  the  varied  mental  attainments  of  the 
late  Mayor  Harrison,  and  mourn  the  loss  of  an  official  and  personal 
friend,  we  bow  with  reverence  to  the  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  "who 
doeth  all  things  well,"  grateful  that  the  life  of  our  brother  and  friend  was 
spared  until  the  closing  hours  of  the  Exposition. 

To  the  children  and  family  of  our  brother  we  tender  our  deepest 
sympathy,  and  to  the  city  and  people  whose  friendship  and  hospitality 
we  have  so  long  enjoyed  we  express  our  deep  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  their 
accomplished  and  honored  chief  magistrate. 

Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  minutes  be  adopted  by  this  assembly, 
consisting  of  the  officials  of  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  the  representatives  of  foreign  nations, 
and  the  commissioners  of  the  several  States  and  Territories,  and  that  a 
duly  engrossed  copy  thereof,  under  the  hands  of  the  president  of  this 
assembly  and  the  chairman  of  the  joint  Committee  on  Resolutions,  be 
transmitted  to  the  family  of  our  deceased  brother  Carter  H.  Harrison, 
and  that  copies  thereof  be  also  delivered  to  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  and  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  That  we  commend  and  approve  the  order  of 
the  director-general  rescinding  the  order  heretofore  issued  for  closing 
ceremonies,  but  we  deem  it  proper  and  advisable  that  the  several  officers 
appointed  to  address  this  assembly  on  the  several  subjects  assigned  to 
them  respectively,  as  apart  of  the  closing  ceremonies  of  the  Exposition,  be 
requested  to  deliver  such  papers  to  the  secretary  of  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Commission,  to  be  filed  with  and  made  a  part  of  the  records  of  the 
Exposition. 

After  this  formality  was  completed,  President  Palmer 
again  came  forward  and  said: 

As  all  present  know,  it  had  been  the  intention  to  follow  out  in 
every  detail  the  elaborate  and  impressive  program  of  exercises  that  had 
been  prepared.  It  would  have  been  enhanced  and  enriched  with 
music,  with  festivities,  and  with  the  firing  of  cannon.  It  had  been 
intended  to  bring  these  exercises  to  a  close  at  sunset  by  the  fall  of  the 
gavel  simultaneously  with  the  salute  of  artillery;  but  all  this  has  been 
changed.  Only  the  firing  of  the  gun  and  the  lowering  of  the  flag  will 
signify  the  end  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  at  sunset.  And 
now  for  then,  in  obedience  to  the  provision  of  the  Act  of  Congress 
creating  this  Exposition,  I  declare  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition 
officially  closed. 

All  these  proceedings  were  heard  quietly  and  without 
demonstration  of  any  kind.  It  was  an  impressive  and,  at 


AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  AND  OCTOBER. 

times,  a  very  solemn  scene.  The  address  prepared  by 
your  president  for  the  closing  exercises,  prior  to  the  death 
of  the  mayor,  was  excepted  from  the  order  consigning  all 
the  addresses  of  the  officers  to  the  records  without  reading, 
because  of  the  appropriateness  of  its  language  to  the 
changed  conditions  produced  by  the  terrible  occurrence. 
The  thoughts  awakened  by  the  approaching  death  of  the 
Exposition  seemed  to  have  acquired  a  new  meaning,  and 
the  address  was,  therefore,  read  by  Doctor  Barrows.  The 
closing  portion  was  as  follows: 

This  is  not  the  time  for  exultation  over  our  victory,  except  in  so 
far  as  to  recognize  that  without  the  favor  of  the  God  that  guided  the 
frail  craft  of  the  voyagers  400  years  ago  to  this  land,  it  could  not  have 
been  achieved.  Exultation  would  be  undignified.  Gratitude  to  the 
Almighty  is  the  only  feeling  that  I  can  harbor  in  my  breast  except  the 
sorrow  which  the  closing  hour  evokes.  We  are  turning  our  backs  upon 
the  fairest  dream  of  civilization,  and  are  about  to  consign  it  to  the  dust. 
It  is  like  the  death  of  a  dear  friend.  It  is  like  bidding  farewell  to  one's 
youth.  It  is  like  all  those  times  in  the  -life  of  a  man  when  the  thoughts 
of  the  present  are  choked  with  the  emotions  of  the  past.  At  such  times 
the  call  of  duty  alone  can  uplift  the  heart  and  arouse  it  to  meet  the 
things  that  are  yet  to  come.  That  call  is  upon  each  one  of  us  now. 
It  echoes  in  the  hearts  of  all  that  have  been  touched  by  these  wonders 
which  God  has  brought  to  pass.  It  bids  us  learn  the  lessons  of  the  past 
season  to  the  everlasting  benefit  of  ourselves  and  our  children.  It  bids 
us  to  appropriate  to  ourselves  the  imperishable  parts  of  this  high  feast 
of  the  arts,  industries,  and  sciences,  and  so  embalm  them  in  memory's 
treasure  house  that  they  may  be  best  preserved  and  produce  the  largest 
fruits  in  the  generations  to  come. 

Let  us  go  forward  and  meet  the  duties  of  the  future  without  fear, 
sustained  by  the  faith  that  what  we  have  wrought  will  endure  and 
forever  stand  as  a  beacon  light,  guiding  others  to  loftier  heights  and 
greater  achievements. 

Doctor  Barrows  then  spoke  the  solemn  words  of  the 
benediction,  while  all  rose  to  their  feet  and  stood  in  rever- 
ential attitude. 

As  the  audience  filed  out  of  the  hall,  Beethoven's 
"  Funeral  March  "  was  rendered  with  impressive  effect. 

The  actual  closing  occurred  a  few  hours  later,  when,  for 


278  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  last  time,  the  great  flags  were  hauled  down  from  the  flag- 
staffs  on  the  Administration  Plaza  amid  an  assemblage  of 
silent  spectators.  A  large  crowd  of  visitors  assembled  to 
witness  this  ceremony  and  waited  in  silence  for  the  moment 
to  approach.  From  the  windows  and  balconies  of  the 
Administration  and  other  buildings  on  the  Court  of  Honor, 
directors  and  officials,  with  their  friends,  including  many 
ladies,  watched  for  the  signal  with  feelings  of  regret  and 
sadness.  The  great  flags  had  been  at  half-mast  on  the 
graceful  standards  upon  the  Plaza  all  day,  on  account  of 
the  recent  tragedy.  At  sunset  they  were  silently  lowered 
to  the  ground  and  their  folds  fluttered  down  upon  the 
multitude  beneath,  where  they  were  gathered  up  by  the 
employes  and  borne  into  the  building,  while  the  bystanders 
stood  with  uncovered  heads.  Many  of  those  who  witnessed 
this  simple  act  could  not  restrain  tears  of  sorrow  for  the 
sad  ending  of  the  glorious  Exposition. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW. 

WITH  the  close  of  the  Exposition  the  labors  of 
the  Council  of  Administration  came  to  an  end. 
The  council  had  been  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conducting  the  general  administration 
of  the  Exposition.  The  Exposition  season  was  now  ended 
and  the  differences  which  had  existed  during  the  period 
of  preparation  and  the  early  months  of  the  season  were 
forgotten.  The  World's  Columbian  Commission  was  about 
to  adjourn,  probably  not  to  reassemble.  The  council  could 
resign  its  powers  into  the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  whose  officers  would 
see  that  exhibits  were  removed,  that  proper  courtesies 
were  extended  to  the  representatives  of  foreign  nations 
upon  the  grounds,  and  that  business  affairs  were  closed 
tip  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  council  held  its  last  meeting  on  Friday,  November 
10,  1893,  and  closed  its  records.  Its  members  shook  off 
their  long  established  habit  of  close  association  and  turned 
once  more  to  their  personal  pursuits,  with  the  exception 
of  your  president,  whose  labor  was  not  yet  ended. 

I  desire  here  to  pay  a  tribute  of  affection  and  respect 
to  my  colleague,  Charles  H.  Schwab,  whose  patience,  even 
temperament,  and  excellent  business  ability  assisted  us 
greatly  in  disposing  of  the  work  of  the  council. 

On  October  2yth  Daniel  H.  Burnham  resigned  his  posi- 
tion as  director  of  works.  His  resignation  was  accepted  by 
the  Board  of  Directors  with  expressions  of  esteem  for  that 

(279) 


280  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

distinguished  officer  and  of  appreciation  of  his  eminent 
services.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  control  of  physical 
forces  on  the  grounds  by  the  assistant  director  of  works, 
Ernest  R.  Graham,  who,  on  November  ist,  was  appointed 
general  manager,  with  a  salary  at  the  rate  of  $600  per 
month. 

Much  regret  was  expressed  because  the  beauty  of  the 
grounds  would  soon  pass  away  and  the  magnificent  build- 
ings be  destroyed.  Efforts  were  made  to  retain  at  least 
some  portions  of  the  edifices.  The  futility  of  these  efforts 
was  shown  by  those  who  understood  the  character  of  the 
buildings  and  their  construction.  They  were  designed  only 
for  temporary  service,  and  their  safety  and  durability  was 
not  expected  to  outlive  the  Exposition.  Their  retention 
would  have  required  constant  outlays  of  considerable  sums 
for  repairs.  Dilapidation  began  almost  as  soon  as  the 
Exposition  season  closed.  When  the  landscape  department 
ceased  to  care  for  the  grounds  their  beauty  was  quickly 
marred  by  accumulations  of  waste.  The  hauling  of  a  few 
team  loads  of  heavy  exhibits  revealed  the  temporary  char- 
acter of  the  roads.  Fragments  of  staff  began  to  scale  from 
walls  or  drop  from  cornices,  and  within  a  week  the  grounds 
had  lost  the  freshness  which  had  been  maintained  only  by 
constant  attention. 

Requests  for  pieces  of  the  statuary  began  to  be  pre- 
sented—  one  from  Pennsylvania  for  the  statue  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  which  stood  in  the  south  entrance  of  the  Elec- 
trical Building;  one  from  Colorado  for  the  equestrian  stat- 
ues of  the  "  Cowboy  "  and  the  "  Indian,"  which  stood  on  the 
shore  of  the  lagoon  east  of  the  building  for  Transportation 
Exhibits.  Such  requests  were  referred  to  a  committee,  and 
several  of  them  were  granted.  Mr.  Graham  was  instructed 
to  preserve  carefully  all  loose  property  in  the  park,  and 
when  it  was  no  longer  needed,  to  sell  it  to  the  best  advan- 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  281 

tage.  For  a  time  sales  were  made  under  the  supervision 
of  the  committee,  of  which  Adolph  Nathan  was  chairman. 
Later,  prices  were  fixed  by  Mr.  Graham,  with  the  approval 
of  your  president.  The  Midway  Plaisance  was  closed  to 
the  public  on  November  ist  because  of  an  attempt  of  the 
concessionaires  to  operate  their  concessions  without  pay- 
ment of  percentages,  and  because  it  was  deemed  best  to 
close  the  Exposition  with  promptness,  to  facilitate  the 
removal  of  exhibits  and  other  valuables,  and  terminate 
the  great  fire  risks  then  in  the  park. 

Railroad  tracks  were  quickly  replaced,  steam  cranes 
reappeared,  and  the  removal  of  exhibits  went  rapidly 
forward.  This  work  was  done  by  the  Department  of 
Transportation,  under  the  rules  that  existed  in  the  period 
of  installation.  On  December  ist  the  Kimball  &  Cobb 
Stone  Company  contracted  to  remove  exhibits  at  the  rate 
of  5  cents  per  hundredweight.  As  it  appeared  that  at 
this  rate  the  work  was  done  at  a  loss,  the  compensation 
was  afterward  raised  to  6  cents  per  hundredweight.  This 
arrangement  greatly  lightened  the  work  of  the  depart- 
ment, and  its  force  was  soon  reduced  to  a  few  men.  In 
March  its  last  employe  was  discharged. 

Previous  to  the  close  of  the  Exposition  Mr.  Burnham 
had  given  attention  to  the  compiling  of  a  report  of  the 
Department  of  Works.  At  the  close  of  the  season  he  under- 
took the  preparation  of  the  report,  and  gave  to  it  much 
time  without  compensation.  J.  W.  Alvord,  superintendent 
of  grades  and  surveys,  and  F.  O.  Cloyes,  chief  draughtsman, 
with  the  forces  under  them,  were  detailed  to  assist  in  this 
work,  upon  which  they  spent  some  months.  The  elaborate 
report  which  they  produced  was  comprised  in  eight  vol- 
umes, each  21  inches  long,  28  inches  wide,  and  3^  inches 
thick.  It  contains  many  full-page  photographs  and  several 
hundred  smaller  ones,  illustrating  the  progress  and  details 


282  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

of  construction,  the  landscape,  and  numerous  Exposition 
scenes,  all  mounted  on  heavy  card-board.  The  cost  to 
your  company  of  preparing  this  report  was  $24,925.83.  A 
statement  of  its  contents  appears  on  page  205. 

Immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  Exposition  your 
company  found  itself  under  the  necessity  of  effecting  a 
settlement  with  the  Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners, 
from  whom  the  use  of  Jackson  Park  and.  the  Midway 
Plaisance  had  been  secured  for  the  Exposition.  The  ordi- 
nance granting  the  use  of  this  park  property  provided  that 
it  should  be  restored  to  the  control  of  the  commission  on 
January  i,  1894,  except  such  parts  thereof  as  might  be 
occupied  by  the  buildings  or  other  constructions  of  your 
company;  that  the  buildings  on  the  north  eighty-four 
acres  of  Jackson  Park  (the  Art  Building,  State  buildings, 
foreign  buildings,  etc.)  be  removed  prior  to  May  i,  1894, 
and  that  the  remainder  be  removed  prior  to  May  i,  1895. 
The  ordinance  further  provided  that  Jackson  Park  and  the 
Midway  Plaisance  be  surrendered  to  the  park  commis- 
sioners in  as  good  condition  as  they  were  in  at  the  passage 
of  the  ordinance. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  ordinance  a  bond  in  the  penal 
sum  of  $100,000  had  been  given  by  your  company  for  the 
faithful  performance  of  the  conditions  named,  and  to  save 
the  park  commissioners  harmless  from  all  damages  for  the 
use  of  the  property  by  the  Exposition.  A  second  bond  of 
the  same  tenor  and  effect,  and  for  an  additional  $100,000, 
was  to  be  given  by  your  company  before  proceeding  to 
remove  any  of  the  buildings. 

It  was  the  theory  of  the  officers  of  your  company  that 
the  park  had  been  materially  benefited  by  the  work  done 
for  the  Exposition,  especially  in  the  large  amounts  of  dredg- 
ing and  filling.  It  had  also  been  customary,  when  estimat- 
ing resources,  to  include  a  large  amount  for  salvage  on 


POST-EXPOSITION    WORK:   REVIEW.  283 

buildings.  In  the  first  budget,  February,  1891,  the  salvage 
had  been  estimated  at  $3,000,000.  At  the  close  of  the  Expo- 
sition grave  doubts  were  expressed  whether  any  sum  what- 
ever could  be  realized  from  the  buildings  above  the  cost 
of  their  removal;  many  believed  that  the  cost  of  removal 
would  be  greater  than  the  salvage,  particularly  as  the  time 
in  which  they  were  to  be  removed  was  limited. 

A  committee  was  appointed  by  your  Board  of  Directors, 
composed  of  the  president,  the  director-general,  and  Messrs. 
Stone,  Walker,  and  Gage,  to  negotiate  with  the  park  com- 
missioners. The  commissioners  claimed  that  the  Expo- 
sition had  damaged  the  park  very  greatly  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  trees,  in  both  the  improved  and  the  unimproved 
parts  of  the  park  and  the  plaisance;  by  covering  black  soil 
and  mixing  it  with  sand;  by  the  destruction  of  lawns  and 
roads  in  the  improved  portions,  and  by  other  items  more 
or  less  important. 

The  chief  business  of  your  company  at  this  time  being 
to  secure  assets,  adjust  claims,  and  close  up  its  affairs  at 
the  earliest  moment,  consistent  with  the  true  interests  of 
the  stockholders,  it  was  thought  possible  to  effect  a  settle- 
ment with  the  Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners  by 
which,  after  the  removal  of  exhibits  and  other  property  not 
belonging  to  your  company,  the  buildings  might  be  turned 
over  to  the  commissioners  to  be  used  as  they  should  see  fit, 
they,  in  return,  to  release  your  company  from  the  bond 
given  in  1890  and  from  all  other  claims  consequent  upon 
the  use  of  the  park  for  the  Exposition. 

In  answer  to  the  claims  for  damages  to  the  park  set 
up  by  the  commissioners,  your  committee  prepared  a  state- 
ment of  benefits  and  improvements  which  had  accrued  to 
the  park  by  reason  of  your  occupancy  thereof,  and  an 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  buildings,  tools,  and  other 
property  which  your  company  could  turn  over  to  the 


284  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

commissioners.  They  still  insisted  that  the  damages  sus- 
tained were  greater  than  the  improvements,  and  that  the 
possibility  of  obtaining  salvage  from  the  buildings  was 
too  remote  to  be  treated  as  an  offset  to  the  balance  in 
their  favor.  They  required  the  payment  of  a  sum  in  cash 
in  addition  to  the  surrender  of  the  buildings  and  other 
property. 

After  several  conferences  between  the  Board  of  South 
Park  Commissioners  and  your  committee,  a  complete  settle- 
ment was  arrived  at  early  in  December.  It  was  agreed 
that  your  company  should  pay  to  the  Board  of  South  Park 
Commissioners  the  sum  of  $200,000,  and  in  addition  should 
turn  over  to  it  property  consisting  of  twenty-seven  exhibit 
buildings,  bridges,  piers,  band-stands,  road-rollers,  tools  and 
implements,  lamp-posts,  pipe  fittings,  plumbers'  materials, 
the  Statue  of  the  Republic,  etc.,  in  consideration  of  which 
your  company  was  released  from  all  its  obligations  under 
the  original  ordinance  granting  the  use  of  Jackson  Park 
and  the  Midway  Plaisance,  its  bond  for  $100,000  being  can- 
celed and  surrendered.  Your  company  retained  also  the 
right  to  occupy  the  park  for  the  removal  of  exhibits  and 
of  all  property  not  conveyed  to  the  Board  of  South  Park 
Commissioners  by  the  terms  of  the  settlement,  after  which 
its  connection  with  the  park  was  to  be  entirely  closed. 

The  settlement  thus  effected  was  a  source  of  general 
satisfaction  and  relief  to  the  directors,  officers,  and  stock- 
holders of  your  company  so  far  as  their  wishes  could  be 
ascertained  informally.  It  obviated  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing up  an  expensive  organization  for  the  purpose  of  demol- 
ishing the  buildings.  The  settlement  removed  at  a  stroke 
every  possibility  of  claim  upon  your  company  for  damage 
done  to  the  park  by  reason  of  our  long  occupation  thereof. 
Numerous  claims  might  justly  have  been  presented,  though 
in  some  instances  trifling,  and  nothing  short  of  a  complete 


POST-EXPOSITION  WORK:   REVIEW.  285 

and  sweeping  adjustment,  covering  every  possible  ground 
for  claim,  would  have  answered  the  purpose.  The  settle- 
ment was  made  effective  by  an  ordinance  passed  by  the 
South  Park  Commission,  December  29,  1893.  This  settle- 
ment and  the  contract  with  the  Kimball  &  Cobb  Stone 
Company  for  the  removal  of  exhibits  permitted  the  work- 
ing force  employed  by  your  company  to  be  reduced  to  a 
comparatively  small  number  on  the  first  day  of  January, 
1894,  thus  justifying  the  hope  that  our  affairs  might  be 
closed  more  rapidly  than  we  had  anticipated. 

On  December  13,  1893,  the  Committee  on  Adjustment, 
appointed  by  the  Executive  Committee  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  preceding  May,  to  deal  with  concessionaires  and 
settle  their  claims  for  or  against  the  Exposition,  submitted 
its  final  report.  Since  its  appointment  this  committee  had 
been  in  almost  continuous  session  at  Jackson  Park  until 
November  loth,  and  after  that  time  had  held  its  meetings 
in  the  city.  Its  labors  had  been  great  and  the  results  more 
than  satisfactory.  During  the  first  half  of  the  Exposition, 
allowances  had  been  made  to  concessionaires  on  account  of 
damage  to  their  business  through  the  failure  of  electric 
current,  the  incompleteness  of  roads,  or  other  causes  for 
which  your  company  was  clearly  responsible.  These  allow- 
ances were  frequently  in  the  nature  of  compromises  for  the 
collection  of  large  sums  due  the  Exposition  and  withheld 
by  the  concessionaires.  In  this  work  the  committee  had 
the  assistance  of  Samuel  S.  Page  as  attorney.  In  addition 
to  adjusting  claims,  the  committee  assisted  the  superintend- 
ent in  collecting  from  delinquents,  giving  him  moral  support 
and  the  aid  of  the  attorney.  The  allowances  made  by  the 
committee  to  concessionaires  amounted  to  $122,016.48  —  a 
considerable  sum,  but  small  in  comparison  with  the  total  col- 
lected and  collectible  from  concessionaires,  which  was  over 
$4,000,000.  A  full  and  complete  report  was  submitted  by 


286  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

the  committee  and  placed  on  file  (Document  No.  2,086, 
secretary's  office),  giving  in  each  case  the  nature  of  the 
claim  and  the  amount  allowed  by  the  committee.  The 
Executive  Committee  fully  recognized  the  importance  of 
the  labor  performed  by  the  Committee  on  Adjustment,  and 
gave  to  its  members,  Adolph  Nathan,  Thies  J.  Lefens, 
Andrew  McNally,  and  Edward  F.  Lawrence,  a  vote  of 
thanks. 

Your  auditor,  William  K.  Ackerman,  resigned  on  Novem- 
ber 29,  1893,  at  the  same  time  submitting  to  your  president 
a  careful,  thorough,  and  comprehensive  report  of  his  work 
and  of  the  operations  of  the  treasurer's  office  from  the 
organization  of  the  company  to  the  date  of  his  resigna- 
tion. A  little  reflection  as  to  the  magnitude  of  our  opera- 
tions, and  the  trying  nature  of  the  auditing,  bookkeeping, 
and  other  financial  work  of  your  company,  will  enable  any 
director  to  appreciate  the  services  which  Mr.  Ackerman 
rendered,  but  to  thoroughly  understand  his  energy  and 
devotion  to  the  company's  interests  one  must  have  served 
with  him  and  had  the  opportunity  to  come  frequently  in 
contact  with  his  office  through  business  channels.  Charles 
V.  Harrington,  the  assistant  auditor,  acted  as  auditor  after 
Mr.  Ackerman's  resignation  until  June  i,  1896.  He  then 
turned  the  books  over  to  E.  Norton  White  of  the  secre- 
tary's office,  who  has  had  charge  of  them  since,  and  has 
made  what  few  entries  were  required  by  our  collections 
and  disbursements. 

To  further  reduce  the  force  employed,  it  had  been 
ordered  that  the  services  of  the  employes  of  the  exhibit 
departments  should  be  discontinued  on  January  i,  1894,  the 
chiefs  of  departments  to  be  continued  until  April  ist  for 
the  purpose  of  preparing  their  reports.  Owing  to  delays 
in  the  removal  of  exhibits,  this  order  could  not  be  obeyed 
strictly,  and  a  few  clerks  and  stenographers  were  retained 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   RE VIE W.  287 

until  the  ist  of  February  or  the  ist  of  March;  then  the 
organizations  of  the  exhibit  departments  went  out  of  exist- 
ence, their  papers  being  turned  over  to  the  director-general 
with  the  reports  of  the  chiefs.  The  Department  of  Pub- 
licity and  Promotion  was  discontinued  at  the  close  of  the 
Exposition;  that  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  at  the  same  time 
reduced  to  small  compass  by  the  resignation  of  its  chief 
and  most  of  the  subordinates,  leaving  one  or  two  clerks  to 
transact  such  business  as  might  be  necessary,  under  the 
direction  of  the  director-general. 

The  secretary  of  the  Bureau  of  Music,  George  H.  Wilson, 
and  the  medical  director,  Dr.  John  E.  Owens,  were  con- 
tinued in  service  until  April  ist,  to  give  time  for  the 
preparation  of  their  respective  reports. 

The  departments  of  Admissions  and  of  Collections  were 
reduced  to  small  compass  as  soon  as  the  Exposition  closed. 
A  charge  was  still  made  for  admission  to  the  park  after 
November  ist,  but  the  attendance  was  soon  very  small. 
After  November  loth  the  rate  of  admission  was  reduced 
to  25  cents,  and  on  November  i5th  the  departments  of 
Admissions  and  Collections  were  merged  in  the  offices 
of  the  auditor  and  treasurer,  the  superintendents  being 
continued  in  the  service  to  make  careful  reports  upon 
their  work. 

The  models  of  all  the  statuary  in  the  park,  having  been 
carefully  preserved,  were  presented  to  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum.  On  the  ist  of  January  little  remained  in  Jackson 
Park  to  require  the  attention  of  your  officers  except  the 
exhibits,  the  removal  of  which  was  proceeding  more  slowly 
than  had  been  expected.  The  foreign  exhibits  were  the 
last  to  be  removed.  The  formalities  of  the  customs 
officials,  which  had  to  be  observed  before  foreign  exhibits 
could  be  removed  from  the  grounds,  were  such  as  to 
require  some  time,  and  the  large  amount  of  material 


288  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

waiting  to  be  removed  created  in  the  customs  office  a 
congestion  which,  for  a  time,  it  was  difficult  to  overcome. 

It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  delays  in  the  custom 
house  were  used  as  an  excuse  in  many  instances  where 
exhibitors  were  in  no  hurry  to  move.  Many  foreign 
exhibitors  wished  to  dispose  of  their  goods  in  this  country, 
and  many  of  their  employes,  whose  services  and  salaries 
ended  with  the  shipment  of  the  goods,  were  little  disposed 
to  hasten  the  shipment.  The  Exposition  management 
and  the  collector  of  customs  received  much  criticism  for 
these  delays,  but  it  soon  became  apparent  that  serious 
delays  were  usually  chargeable  to  the  exhibitors  them- 
selves or  to  their  employes  or  representatives.  The  con- 
tractors for  the  removal  of  exhibits  were  prepared  to 
ship  any  exhibit  of  reasonable  size  on  twenty-four  hours' 
notice,  and  customs  documents,  in  proper  form,  could  be 
obtained  in  a  like  period  when  diligent  effort  was  made. 
In  some  instances,  where  exhibitors  were  indebted  to  your 
company  for  services  performed,  or  for  power  or  light 
furnished,  the  empty  packing  cases  were  not  delivered 
from  the  storehouse  until  all  these  claims  were  adjusted, 
and  every  other  proper  effort  was  made  to  enforce  the 
payment  of  bills.  Naturally  this  was  a  source  of  loud 
complaint  in  some  instances.  In  such  cases,  however,  the 
retention  of  packing  cases  was  the  most  available  means 
of  securing  the  money  due,  and  wherever  offsets  or  counter 
claims  of  any  merit  were  presented  they  received  careful 
and  patient  consideration. 

A  disastrous  fire  occurred  on  January  8th.  This  fire 
originated  in  the  Casino,  which,  together  with  the  Peristyle 
and  the  Music  Hall,  was  completely  destroyed.  The  fire 
communicated  to  the  wooden  promenade  on  the  roof  of 
the  Manufactures  Building,  and  this  walk  was  consumed 
for  several  hundred  feet.  The  fire  was  finally  extinguished, 


POST-EXPOSITION  WORK:   REVIEW.  289 

but  not  until  some  exhibits  which  had  not  been  removed 
had  been  damaged  by  falling  sparks  and  brands  or  by 
water  used  to  quench  the  flames.  For  some  time  after 
this,  fires  broke  out  very  frequently,  indeed  almost  daily, 
justifying  the  suspicion  that  they  were  of  incendiary 
origin.  The  persons  guilty  of  the  outrage  were  never 
detected.  In  consequence  of  the  first  fire,  claims  for  heavy 
damages  were  preferred  by  the  French  Government,  whose 
exhibits  had  not  been  removed  as  quickly  as  those  of 
other  nations.  These  claims  aggregate  about  $80,000,  and 
are  believed  to  be  greatly  overestimated.  Such  damage  as 
did  occur  was  due  to  lack  of  diligence  in  the  removals  of 
exhibits.  Under  the  rules  by  which  articles  were  accepted 
for  exhibition  your  company  had  expressly  disclaimed  all 
liability  from  loss  by  fire  or  theft. 

The  threatening  danger  of  fire  resulted  in  accelerating 
the  movements  of  exhibitors  and  their  representatives.  By 
February  ist  the  park  was  practically  cleared  of  exhibits. 
On  that  date  notice  was  given  that  on  February  i5th  your 
company  would  cease  handling,  officially,  all  exhibits,  or  per- 
forming other  functions  of  transportation.  On  this  day  Mr. 
Holcomb,  the  general  manager  of  transportation,  tendered 
his  resignation.  The  office  was  kept  open  a  little  longer 
by  one  of  his  assistants.  On  the  same  date  the  contract 
with  the  Kimball  &  Cobb  Stone  Company  was  terminated. 
Some  foreign  exhibits  in  bond  were  abandoned  by  their 
owners,  and  were  sold  by  the  collector  of  customs  on 
March  7,  1894.  They  were  valued  at  about  $3,000,  and 
consisted  principally  of  wines,  medicines,  tobacco,  cigars, 
fish  in  brine  and  dried,  glass,  tile,  and  furniture.  The 
Department  of  Transportation  was  finally  closed  in  March. 

The  furniture  and  fixtures  belonging  to  the  various 
departments  of  the  Exposition  were  stored  in  the  Annex 
to  the  Transportation  Building  as  the  offices  were  vacated. 

19 


290  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Some  pieces  from  the  principal  offices  brought  good  prices 
as  souvenirs;  after  a  time  the  remnant  was  sold  in  one 
lot  to  the  highest  bidder.  Most  of  the  furniture  which 
the  company  had  purchased  was  inexpensive,  and  even 
for  the  principal  offices  but  little  fine  furniture  or  fixtures 
had  been  procured. 

THE   FIELD   COLUMBIAN   MUSEUM. 

It  is  proper  here  to  refer  to  the  institution  which  began 
an  official  existence  shortly  before  the  close  of  the  Expo- 
sition, and  became  its  heir.  I  refer  to  the  Field  Colum- 
bian Museum.  From  the  inception  of  the  Exposition 
enterprise  the  idea  of  a  permanent  museum  as  a  probable 
successor  had  been  developed,  and  some  articles  had  been 
purchased  for  exhibition  in  the  Latin- American  Depart- 
ment with  the  understanding  that  they  might  revert  to 
such  museum.  In  September,  1893,  articles  of  incorpora- 
tion of  the  "Columbian  Museum"  were  taken  out  by  a 
committee  consisting  of  the  following  gentlemen: 

George  E.  Adams.         Carter  H.  Harrison.       Edward  E.  Ayer. 
Emil  G.  Hirsch.  Sidney  C.  Eastman.      Robert  McMurdy. 

John  A.  Roche.  A.  C.  Bartlett.  Charles  Fitzsimons. 

On  October  26th  Marshall  Field  announced  that  he 
would  make  a  donation  of  $1,000,000  for  the  purposes  of 
the  museum.  This  donation  was  originally  coupled  with 
conditions  that  $500,000  more  in  cash  be  secured,  and 
$2,000,000  in  stock  of  your  company.  These  conditions 
were  subsequently  waived.  Contributions  of  $100,000  each 
were  made  by  George  M.  Pullman  and  your  president. 
Mrs.  Mary  D.  Sturges  gave  $50,000,  and  several  gentlemen 
interested  in  the  success  of  the  museum  undertook  to  raise 
$100,000  more.  This  sum  is  nearly  all  subscribed,  and  will 
eventually  be  secured.  Nearly  $1,500,000  of  Exposition 


POST-EXPOSITION  WORK:   REVIEW.  291 

stock  was  also  given  to  the  museum,  on  which  it  has  real- 
ized 10  per  cent. 

Before  the  Exposition  was  closed,  the  incorporators 
appointed  committees  to  secure  from  among  the  exhibits 
as  many  desirable  objects  as  could  be  obtained  for  museum 
purposes.  The  chiefs  of  the  exhibit  departments  cooper- 
ated heartily,  and  large  donations  were  made  by  both 
American  and  foreign  exhibitors.  The  Art  Building  was 
selected  for  the  home  of  the  museum.  It  had  been  so 
constructed  as  to  make  possible  its  permanent  retention 
in  Jackson  Park.  The  exhibits  in  that  building  were  among 
the  first  to  be  removed.  The  incorporators  of  the  museum 
promptly  obtained  possession  of  it  under  an  arrangement 
with  the  park  commissioners,  and  the  objects  donated  were 
collected  here  for  subsequent  installation. 

The  museum  organization  was  perfected  by  the  election 
of  a  board  of  trustees  consisting  of  the  following: 

Norman  Williams.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick. 

Edward  E.  Ayer.  Martin  A.  Ryerson. 

George  R.  Davis.  Edwin  Walker. 

George  Manniere.  Harlow  N.  Higinbotham. 

Owen  F.  Aldis.  William  J.  Chalmers. 

George  E.  Adams.  Watson  Blair. 

Norman  B.  Ream.  Hnntington  W.  Jackson. 
A.  B.  Jones. 

Frederick  J.  V.  Skiff,  chief  of  the  Department  of  Mines 
and  Mining  of  the  Exposition,  was  chosen  director  of  the 
museum,  and  through  his  energy  and  ability,  seconded  by 
the  efforts  of  the  general  manager  and  other  Exposition 
officers,  the  building  was  put  in  a  fair  condition  and  the 
exhibits  were  installed  in  a  creditable  manner  by  June  2, 
1894,  when  the  museum  was  opened  to  the  public.  Since 
this  time  the  installation  has  been  greatly  improved,  and 
well  illustrates  the  genius  of  the  director.  The  name  of 
the  institution  has  been  changed  to  the  "  Field  Columbian 


292  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Museum,"  in  honor  of  Marshall  Field,  whose  opportune 
gift  made  the  founding  of  the  museum  possible.  Many 
objects  of  value  have  been  secured  by  gift  or  purchase, 
among  which  the  most  important  are  the  anthropological 
collection  presented  by  Edward  E.  Ayer,  the  first  president 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  the  collection  of  gems  and 
precious  stones  made  by  Tiffany  &  Co.,  and  sold  by  them 
to  the  museum,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  it  intact.  An 
inspection  of  the  museum  to-day  will  illustrate  the  won- 
derful opportunities  which  a  great  exposition  affords  for 
founding  or  developing  a  museum.  The  Field  Columbian 
Museum  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the  principal  and  perma- 
nent institutions  of  Chicago,  and  it  is  interesting  to  specu- 
late as  to  the  possibilities  that  wait  on  its  future  develop- 
ment, particularly  in  the  event  that  our  city  should,  within 
the  next  generation,  again  undertake  the  herculean  task 
of  creating  an  international  exposition.  Since  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition  became  a  possibility  speculation  has  been 
rife  as  to  the  benefits  which  would  accrue  to  our  city 
therefrom.  It  now  seems  apparent  that  one  of  the  great 
benefits  to  the  city  and  to  its  citizens  has  been  the  crea- 
tion in  our  midst  of  this  great  scientific  and  popular 
institution. 

On  May  i,  1894,  the  Board  of  Directors  found  that  the 
work  of  removing  exhibits  had  been  finished,  your  com- 
pany's property  disposed  of,  and  the  business  for  which 
the  company  was  organized  practically  completed.  The 
treasury  contained  funds  sufficient  to  permit  the  payment 
of  a  dividend  of  10  per  cent  upon  the  stock  subscriptions, 
including  the  $5,000,000  of  city  of  Chicago  bonds,  which, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  city's  appropriation  to  the 
Exposition,  were  to  participate  with  the  stock  in  any  divi- 
sion of  funds  remaining  at  the  close  of  the  enterprise. 
The  dividend  was  paid  on  June  9,  1894,  $500,000  going  to 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  293 

the  city  of  Chicago,  and  $550,000  being  distributed  to  stock- 
holders. A  balance  of  more  than  $400,000  remained  in 
the  treasury,  which  amount,  with  the  proceeds  from  claims 
in  dispute  probably  collectible,  was  thought  to  be  sufficient 
to  meet  such  claims  against  the  company  as  might  be  found 
to  be  payable  after  investigation  or  legal  process. 

On  August  i,  1894,  Anthony  F.  Seeberger,  the  treasurer, 
tendered  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted  by  the  direct- 
ors with  expressions  of  regret  and  esteem.  By  his  excel- 
lent business  methods  Mr.  Seeberger  has  won  for  his  office 
the  commendations  of  all  who  had  dealings  with  it,  and  his 
patience  and  courteous  bearing  had  been  invaluable  during 
the  trying  period  when  the  treasury  was  depleted  and  cred- 
itors were  pressing.  After  Mr.  Seeberger's  resignation  Mr. 
Barrington  acted  as  treasurer  as  well  as  auditor.  Thfe 
thanks  of  the  company  are  due  to  Mr.  Barrington  for  the 
thoroughness  with  which  the  accounts  have  been  kept 
since  the  close  of  the  Exposition. 

After  making  some  collections  and  paying  some  expenses 
and  claims,  the  amount  on  hand  January  i,  1898,  was 
$450,018.39. 

Suits  for  and  against  your  company  are  still  pending, 
and  the  sum  which  will  remain  after  all  accounts  have  been 
adjusted  and  closed  can  not  now  be  definitely  stated.  Mean- 
while your  company  is  under  very  slight  expense,  and  is 
receiving  a  fair  rate  of  interest  upon  the  funds  still  remain- 
ing on  hand. 

I  feel  that  it  should  be  a  source  of  congratulation  to 
the  directors  that  the  affairs  of  the  company  have  been 
closed  up  so  rapidly.  In  almost  every  instance  claims  and 
other  business  matters  have  found  adjustment  upon  a  fair 
basis  and  without  friction.  But  for  a  few  suits  against 
the  company,  prosecuted,  as  it  seems  to  me,  without  suffi- 
cient ground,  and  some  claims  for  moneys  due,  which  your 


294  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

officers  have  been  unable  to  settle  upon  an  equitable  basis, 
nothing  prevents  an  immediate  and  final  closing  of  the 
affairs  of  your  company. 

REVIEW. 

In  summing  up  the  work  which  we  have  performed,  I 
desire  to  add  a  few  remarks  of  a  critical  nature  in  addition 
to  the  comments  which  I  have  made  on  each  subject  as 
it  was  taken  up  in  the  course  of  this  report.  I  shall 
confine  myself  to  financial  policy  and  administrative  organ- 
ization, these  being  the  subjects  upon  which  precedents 
will  be  most  eagerly  sought  as  to  exposition  work.  Before 
the  time  comes  for  holding  another  American  exposition, 
architectural  and  engineering  methods  may  have  sur- 
passed the  greatest  achievements  of  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  in  those  departments,  and  the  structural 
and  artistic  side  of  that  new  exposition  will  draw  its 
inspiration  from  the  best  thought  and  impulses  of  its  day 
rather  than  from  any  models  which  we  may  leave.  The 
grounds  and  buildings  of  our  Exposition  were  the  out- 
growth of  a  desire  for  structures  more  noble  and  landscape 
effects  more  beautiful  than  any  the  world  had  hitherto 
seen.  How  far  these  ideals  were  realized  the  world  of  art 
and  refinement  will  decide.  Words  can  not  add  to,  nor 
can  they  explain,  the  majesty  of  the  buildings  and  the 
beauty  of  the  grounds.  The  recollection  which  the  world 
has  of  them  is  too  vivid  soon  to  be  obliterated,  but  it  will 
rather  be  intensified  in  the  calmness  of  reflection.  To  the 
next  exposition  we  should  bequeath,  not  models  and  plans, 
but,  if  possible,  the  boldness  and  originality,  the  fertility 
of  resource  and  energy  of  execution  that  characterized 
the  labors  of  our  master  artists  of  construction. 

As  to  allotment  of  space  and  installation  of  exhibits, 
the  director-general,  who  devoted  his  best  energies  to  these 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  295 

subjects  and  exercised  direct  authority  over  them,  will  set 
them  forth  fully  in  his  report.  This  report  will  doubtless 
be  published  in  time  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

AWARDS. 

Upon  the  subject  of  awards  but  little  can  be  said. 
Your  company  never  in  any  way  came  in  contact  with 
it,  save  when  our  appropriation  from  Congress  was  depleted 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  this  work.  The  experience  of 
expositions  is  that  the  subject  of  awards  is  not  susceptible 
of  dignified  and  satisfactory  treatment.  Persons  familiar 
with  great  expositions  have  expressed  the  hope  that  a  day 
may  come  when  there  shall  be  no  more  judges,  awards, 
medals,  or  diplomas.  Whether  this  is  the  solution  of  the 
problem,  or  whether  the  feature  of  awards  will  some  day 
attain  to  a  better  status,  we  can  not  tell.  Two  years  after 
the  close  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  the  medals 
had  not  been  distributed  nor  the  reports  of  the  judges 
compiled.  Should  these  reports  be  properly  published  by 
the  Government,  and  should  they  be  found  intelligent  and 
impartial,  they  may  constitute  a  valuable  landmark  in  the 
development  of  science  and  industry.  Otherwise  nothing 
will  have  occurred  in  this  branch  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  to  give  the  subject  of  awards  a  better  position 
than  it  has  hitherto  occupied. 

FINANCES. 

The  outlay  necessary  to  create  a  great  international 
exposition  will  doubtless  continue  to  increase.  An  exposi- 
tion is  the  apotheosis  of  civilization,  in  which  all  that  is 
beautiful,  useful,  wonderful,  or  for  any  reason  attractive, 
must  play  its  part.  The  progress  of  civilization  and  the 
spirit  of  emulation  will  make  the  work  increasingly  labo- 
rious, difficult,  and  expensive.  It  is  probable  that  in  our 


296  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

country  the  city  in  which  an  exposition  is  held  will  be 
required  to  bear  the  burden  of  supporting  adequately  the 
national  honor  in  the  undertaking,  because,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  a  compensation  to  the  locality  is  supposed  to 
exist  in  the  increasing  prestige  and  business  activity 
incident  thereto.  It  will  perhaps  be  possible,  as  national 
pride  increases  and  local  jealousies  are  subdued  into  dig- 
nified commercial  relations,  to  secure  a  greater  measure  of 
cooperation  from  the  National  Government  than  we  were 
able  to  obtain.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  there  will  be  no 
repetition  of  the  undignified  and  vexatious  occurrences 
which  disturbed  your  officers  in  the  discharge  of  their 
tasks.  In  many  matters  where  your  company  had  transac- 
tions with  branches  of  the  Government,  either  relating  to 
finance  or  to  governmental  exhibits,  there  was  a  disposition 
to  lay  unexpected  burdens  upon  your  company,  and  to  shift 
upon  it  labor  and  expense  which  it  should  not  have  been 
required  to  bear.  It  was  humorously  remarked  during 
the  course  of  preparation,  that  when  labor  was  to  be 
required,  or  responsibility  was  to  be  undertaken,  or  crit- 
icism to  be  endured,  the  Exposition  was  the  "  Chicago 
Fair",  when  praise  was  meted  out  and  glory  was  attained, 
it  was  the  "World's  Fair." 

The  liberality  of  our  city  in  supplying  funds  for  the 
Exposition  is,  perhaps,  of  all  things  connected  with  the 
undertaking,  the  most  satisfactory  for  us  to  contemplate. 
All  must  admire  the  pluck  of  our  citizens,  and  their  dis- 
position to  make  any  sacrifice  which  the  enterprise  might 
require.  Patience,  forbearance,  and  scrupulous  care  for 
the  honor  of  the  nation  were  constantly  manifested.  The 
wealth  that  springs  up  and  multiplies  through  the  develop- 
ment of  commerce,  manufactures,  and  the  various  arts  and 
industries  will  ere  long  strengthen  and  enlarge  the  powers 
of  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  so  that  should  the  day  ever  come 


POST-EXPOSITION  WORK:   REVIEW.  297 

when  she  shall  again  desire  to  entertain  the  nations  of.  the 
world,  twice  the  amount  which  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  required  could  probably  be  obtained  with  less 
effort  and  personal  sacrifice;  unless,  indeed,  the  civic  pride 
shall  have  become  cool  and  lost  its  present  fervor. 

As  to  the  financial  returns  of  our  Exposition,  the  subject 
of  gate  admissions  may  be  dismissed  in  a  few  words.  A 
simple  system  and  a  few  rules  are  all  that  is  needed  to 
produce  satisfactory  results,  provided  the  Department  of 
Admissions  is  controlled  by  men  of  intelligence  and  integ- 
rity, loyally  supported  and,  of  course,  carefully  watched. 
Coins  may  be  used  at  the  turnstiles,  as  at  the  Centennial 
of  1876,  or  tickets  may  be  used  as  at  Chicago.  Each 
system  has  its  advantages.  The  use  of  tickets  was  pre- 
ferred by  us  because  it  confined  the  actual  receipt  of  cash 
to  fewer  hands.  Ticket  sellers  can  be  adequately  bonded 
and  a  perfect  check  established  upon  them.  Ticket  takers 
can  be  checked  by  a  perfect  registering  turnstile  system, 
and  the  forgery  of  tickets  can  be  prevented  by  changing 
the  style  of  ticket  daily,  or  twice  a  day  if  necessary.  The 
ticket  need  not  be  expensive.  A  lithographed  ticket  upon 
inexpensive  paper  fully  answers  the  requirements.  The 
stealing  of  tickets  at  our  Exposition  was  confined  to  the 
"  souvenir  tickets,"  which  were  expensive  engraved  tickets, 
good  on  any  day  of  the  Exposition.  An  exposition  is  always 
full  of  souvenirs  and  should  dispense  with  souvenir  tickets. 
In  the  latter  part  of  our  season  the  sale  of  the  handsome 
souvenir  tickets  was  discontinued,  but  as  a  large  number  of 
them  had  been  sold  they  were  still  received  at  the  gates. 
One  form  of  admission  ticket,  good  only  on  the  day  of  sale, 
in  my  judgment,  provides  the  simplest  as  well  as  the  safest 
system,  and  these  tickets  should  be  placed  on  sale  not  only 
at  the  gates  but  at  points  in  the  city,  to  prevent  crowding 
at  the  ticket  windows. 


298  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  total  paid  attendance  during  the  Exposition  season 
was  21,480,141. 

PASSES. 

The  superintendent  of  admissions  favors  the  photo- 
graphic pass  system  used  by  the  Exposition,  and  with  this 
view  I  heartily  concur,  unless  something  better  should  be 
discovered.  The  photograph  is  the  only  safeguard  against 
the  transfer  of  passes.  The  fact  that  it  is  not  used  on 
railroads  has  no  bearing  upon  the  case  of  an  exposition. 
Railroad  officers  often  issue  passes  to  persons  whose  favor 
they  desire  to  secure,  and  it  is  not  possible  to  throw  strict 
rules  about  the  use  to  which  passes  may  be  put.  Expo- 
sition passes,  except  those  issued  to  the  chief  officers  of 
the  State  and  National  governments  and  a  few  others,  are 
granted  for  business  purposes,  and  can  be  made  subject  to 
any  reasonable  and  necessary  rule.  In  an  issue  of  50,000 
passes  without  any  means  of  identification  of  the  holders, 
there  would  have  been  a  constant  transferring  of  passes  to 
an  extent  that  would  have  seriously  affected  the  revenues. 
As  it  was,  the  possibility  of  transferring  without  detection 
was  lessened.  The  penalty  for  transferring  a  pass  was  its 
forfeiture,  and  a  person  having  business  upon  the  grounds 
would  therefore  hesitate  to  put  himself  in  a  position  where 
he  might  not  only  be  deprived  of  his  pass  but  be  placed 
upon  the  "black  list,"  and  be  compelled  to  pay  the  daily 
admission  fee  for  the  rest  of  the  season.  In  any  event  the 
rules  for  the  government  of  officials  at  pass  gates  should 
be  as  simple  as  possible,  to  avoid  confusion.  At  one  time 
the  variety  of  passes  and  badges  which  were  good  for 
admission  was  great  enough  to  confuse  a  trained  intellect. 
They  ranged  from  the  gold  and  enameled  "eagle  badge" 
worn  by  some  of  the  chief  officers,  including  the  fire  mar- 
shal and  commandant,  down  to  the  brass  cross-bow  badge 
worn  by  all  the  men  of  the  guard. 


POST-EXPOSITION  WORK:   REVIEW.  299 

Where  large  numbers  of  day  laborers  are  required,  who 
from  day  to  day  are  hastily  employed  and  discharged,  a 
system  of  passes  can  easily  be  improvised  for  their  use. 
Fraud  and  irregularity  will  certainly  occur,  even  under 
the  best  system.  Patience  and  good  judgment  and  con- 
stant watchfulness  will  limit  the  amount  of  fraud  that  can 
be  successfully  practiced. 

CONCESSIONS. 

Little  can  be  added  to  what  has  been  said  on  this  sub- 
ject in  Chapter  V.  It  is  proper  to  observe  how  completely 
the  financial  success  of  the  Exposition  hinged  upon  this 
one  feature.  In  the  budget  of  February,  1891,  the  estimate 
of  receipts  from  concessions  was  a  million  dollars.  The 
actual  receipts  were  more  than  $4,000,000.  The  amount  on 
hand  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition,  when  the  debenture 
bonds  had  been  paid,  and  before  the  expenses  of  closing 
the  Exposition  and  collecting  from  delinquents  had  been 
incurred,  was  about  $2,000,000.  In  May,  1894,  when  the 
Exposition  affairs  had  been  practically  wound  up  and  col- 
lections from  delinquents  had  to  a  large  extent  been  made, 
the  amount  on  hand  was  about  $1,400,000.  Except  for  the 
success  of  the  concessions  there  would  not  only  have  been 
no  10  per  cent  dividend  for  stockholders,  but  there  would 
have  been  a  deficit  at  the  close  of  the  season  which  the 
subsequent  collections  would  not  have  overcome. 

The  superintendent  reports  the  receipts  from  conces- 
sions as  follows: 

1.  Collected  in  cash $3,469,49485 

2.  Allowances  for  claims  and  damage  adjusted  by 

Adjustment  Committee 203,019  02 

3.  Cash  deposited  at  the  time  of  signing  contracts 

applied  on  final  settlement  of  percentages  _  82,079  66 

4.  Allowed  for  construction  of  piers,  buildings, 

etc. ,  under  concession  contracts 251 ,431 16 

Carried  forward . .  . .  $4, 006, 024  69 


3-00  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Brought  forward $4,006,024  69 

5.  Irish  villages  (revenue  charged  to  these  two 

concessions  rebated  under  terms  of  contract 

because  they  did  not  reach  a  certain  total).        68,587  98 

6.  Accounts  in  dispute  and  litigation  (of  which 

much  has  since  been  collected) 240,807  30 

7.  Suspense  account,  of  which  $1,000  is  an  uncol- 

lected  check  on  a  suspended  bank _ . .          7,661  10 

8.  Balance  outstanding  uncollected 9,495  45 

Total $4,832,57652 

All  of  the  above  amount  may  be  regarded  as  receipts 
from  concessions  except  Nos.  5,  6,  7,  and  8.  Nearly  all 
of  6,  7,  and  8  has  subsequently  been  or  will  be  collected, 
but  if  5  (Irish  villages),  7  (suspense  account),  and  8  (bal- 
ance uncollected)  are  omitted,  the  total  amount  of  receipts 
from  concessions  is  $4,246,831.99,  which  is  a  fair  statement 
of  the  amount  realized  by  your  company  on  account  of 
concessions.  It  would  be  unfair  to  this  department  to 
deduct  allowances  for  claims  and  damages,  as  they  were 
due  to  causes  operating  in  other  departments  of  the  Expo- 
sition over  which  this  department  had  no  control.  The 
allowance  for  construction  of  piers  and  buildings  should 
not  be  deducted,  as  these  piers  and  buildings  would  have 
been  constructed  by  the  Exposition  had  they  not  been  built 
by  arrangement  with  concessionaires. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  cost  of  collecting  from 
concessionaires  was  only  2.44  per  cent  of  the  amount  col- 
lected in  cash  or  its  equivalent.  As  the  total  paid  attend- 
ance to  the  Exposition  was  21,480,141,  the  average  receipts 
from  concessions  was  19.3  cents  per  paid  admission.  More 
than  a  year  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  the 
writer  estimated  the  probable  attendance  at  30,000,000,  and 
the  probable  receipts  from  concessions  at  $7,242,500.  The 
calculation  of  probable  attendance  was  based  upon  the 
population  of  the  country,  allowing  a  certain  ratio  of 
attendance  for  places  within  a  certain  radius  of  Chicago, 
and  a  smaller  ratio  for  places  more  remote.  The  estimate 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  301 

of  receipts  from  concessions  was  about  24  cents  per  paid 
admission  upon  the  estimated  attendance  of  30,000,000. 
At  the  time  these  estimates  were  regarded  as  optimistic, 
and  were  viewed  by  the  writer  as  the  highest  that  could 
reasonably  be  made.  It  now  seems  probable  that  but  for 
the  financial  panic,  the  realization  would  have  been  sur- 
prisingly near  the  estimate.  It  is  generally  conceded  that 
under  other  conditions  the  attendance  would  have  been 
larger  by  several  millions,  both  because  persons  would 
have  visited  the  Exposition  who  were  compelled  by  busi- 
ness cares  to  remain  away,  and  because  those  who  came 
would  have  been  able  to  stay  longer  and  visit  the  grounds 
oftener.  For  the  same  cause  the  disposition  of  visitors  to 
spend  money  would  have  been  greater.  Receipts  from 
concessions  averaged  more  in  proportion  to  attendance 
during  the  first  two  months  than  during  the  last  four, 
whereas  the  contrary  should  have  been  the  case. 

The  attendance  fell  short  about  28  per  cent  of  the  esti- 
mate which  the  writer  had  made.  The  average  of  con- 
cession receipts  per  paid  attendance  fell  short  less  than 
20  per  cent,  while  both  of  these  items  were  largely  in 
excess  of  the  estimates  in  the  budget  of  February,  1891, 
in  which  the  gate  receipts  were  put  down  at  $7,000,000, 
and  the  concession  receipts  at  $1,000,000.  The  estimates 
of  February,  referred  to,  were,  however,  influenced  by 
strict  conservatism  in  the  management  of  your  company's 
business.  On  the  other  hand,  my  estimates  were  made  a 
year  later,  after  a  more  thorough  survey  of  the  field  and 
after  resolving  all  doubts  as  to  the  condition  of  the  coun- 
try, the  attitude  of  the  railroads,  etc.,  in  favor  of  the 
Exposition. 

One  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  claims  against  the 
Exposition  made  by  concessionaires  was  the  exclusive 
feature  included  in  many  concession  contracts.  The  report 


302  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

of  the  superintendent  of  collections,  herewith  transmitted, 
agrees  with  my  own  conclusion  upon  this  subject,  namely, 
that  an  exclusive  concession,  in  exact  terms,  should  never 
be  granted  for  anything  in  connection  with  an  exposition, 
because  it  is  always  difficult  to  enforce  such  a  concession, 
and  the  Exposition  should  not  give  to  a  concessionaire 
the  right  to  demand  such  enforcement.  Moreover,  it  is 
always  easy  for  a  concessionaire  to  devise  colorable  claims 
of  violation  of  an  exclusive  concession.  The  management 
should  go  no  further  than  to  promise  reasonable  protection 
to  the  concessionaire  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  concession, 
and,  after  so  doing,  endeavor  to  avoid  granting  concessions 
liable  to  conflict  with  thbse  already  granted. 

PUBLIC    COMFORT. 

A  well-organized  Department  of  Public  Comfort  should 
be  a  feature  of  every  exposition.  In  our  Exposition  the 
great  expanse  of  grounds  and  the  enormous  area  of  build- 
ings, and  the  consequent  fatigue  from  viewing  their  con- 
tents, made  this  necessity  very  apparent.  This  subject  had 
not  received  sufficient  attention  in  the  early  development 
of  plans,  but  the  necessity  of  providing  resting  places  for 
the  weary  multitude  became  apparent  immediately  after 
the  season  opened.  Serious  abuses  and  infractions  of  the 
regulations  affecting  the  comfort  of  visitors  frequently 
occurred  and  difficulty  was  found  in  preventing  these 
abuses  and  removing  causes  of  complaint.  Had  there 
been  a  well-organized  Bureau  of  Public  Comfort,  one  of 
its  chief  duties  would  have  been  to  note  carefully  all 
instances  of  disregard  of  regulations  affecting  public  com- 
fort, promptly  reporting  them  to  the  proper  officer,  and 
calling  the  attention  of  the  guards  to  the  matter  where 
their  services  could  be  used.  As  it  was,  work  of  this 
nature  was  done  by  different  officers  in  several  depart- 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  303 

merits  in  a  desultory  manner,  without  concert  of  action. 
The  guards  were  required  to  report  scrupulously  every 
violation  of  rules,  or  any  condition  existing  not  in  har- 
mony with  the  general  plan  of  the  Exposition.  They  were 
trained  to  be  courteous  to  visitors  and  to  supply  informa- 
tion when  necessary.  Their  efforts  and  those  of  their 
officers  could  not  supply  the  place  of  a  bureau  officered 
by  men  familiar  with  the  various  aspects  of  great  gather- 
ings and  devoting  their  whole  time  to  securing  for  visitors 
fair  and  proper  treatment  and  a  full  measure  of  comfort 
and  enjoyment. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  service  of  bands  and 
orchestras  in  a  department  of  public  comfort.  Such  a 
department  should  include  the  following : 

First.  Several  ample  stations,  open  or  partially  open 
to  the  air,  sheltered  from  sun  and  rain,  provided  with 
accommodation  for  those  who  bring  luncheons  with  them, 
thus  preventing  the  litter  of  lunch  baskets,  paper,  and 
refuse  throughout  the  grounds.  Light  refreshments  should 
be  sold  in  the  stations,  and  such  other  articles  as  might 
be  considered  in  harmony  with  the  general  idea.  Music 
might  be  provided  occasionally,  and  any  comforts  especially 
designed  for  women  and  children.  Some  such  items  were 
provided  in  the  Children's  Building,  an  adjunct  of  the 
Woman's  Building. 

Second.  A  careful  supervision  of  the  entire  grounds  by 
a  few  men  of  much  higher  intelligence  than  that  of  the 
average  guard,  but  working  in  harmony  with  the  guard 
and  its  officers,  to  prevent  and  to  remedy  the  innumerable 
small  abuses  and  evils  of  which  our  Exposition  was  full, 
and  which  were  constantly  remarked  by  the  press,  or 
brought  to  the  attention  of  your  officers  in  the  meetings 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  or  of  its  Executive  Committee. 

Third.     Possibly,  and  under  peculiar  circumstances,  a 


304  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

rooming  department.  In  providing  these  comforts  little 
thought  should  be  taken  of  financial  return,  and  the  con- 
cession element  should  be  kept  well  under  control.  Res- 
taurants should  be  strictly  supervised.  A  thorough  under- 
standing should  be  had  with  the  various  branches  of  the 
exposition  as  to  the  part  each  should  play  in  working 
out,  as  a  central  idea,  the  highest  degree  of  comfort  and 
pleasure  for  the  largest  number  of  visitors.  An  under- 
standing should  be  had  with  the  executive  commissioners 
of  the  States  as  to  the  part  of  this  work  which  they 
would  undertake  in  their  State  buildings,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent duplication  and  conflict ;  although,  as  a  general 
proposition,  it  may  be  said  that  no  outlay  for  public  com- 
fort in  a  crowded  exposition  will  be  wasted  if  it  is  oper- 
ated with  intelligence  and  forethought. 

OPERATING    EXPENSES. 

An  impression  existed  that  the  expenses  of  the  Expo- 
sition were  unnecessarily  great,  both  during  the  period  of 
construction  and  during  the  Exposition  season,  but  I  sub- 
mit that  these  expenses  should  not  be  judged  from  the 
standpoint  of  any  line  of  established  business.  Due  allow- 
ance should  be  made,  not  only  for  the  inadequate  time  for 
preparation,  but  for  the  temporary  character  of  the  employ- 
ment and  the  high  grade  of  services  required  in  many 
departments.  In  some  cases,  employes  of  the  Exposition 
received  salaries  much  greater  than  their  services  would 
ordinarily  command,  but  necessity  justified  the  payment 
to  them  of  the  increased  compensation,  and  on  the  other 
hand  the  loss  of  business  opportunities  while  in  their 
temporary  Exposition  employment  in  many  cases  justified 
their  demanding  it.  Certainly  in  some  cases  able  and 
gifted  men  served  your  company  for  compensation  quite 
inadequate  to  the  duties  which  they  performed. 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW. 


305 


Knowing  the  critical  condition  of  the  company's  finances, 
the  Council  of  Administration  constantly  strove  to  reduce 
the  operating  expenses,  and  for  four  months  these  show  a 
steady  reduction  in  spite  of  the  increased  business.  This 
was  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  council  and  to  the  constant 
improvement  of  the  hastily  organized  force  of  employes. 
However,  the  saving  effected  was  not  large  enough  to 
affect  greatly  the  financial  situation.  Sweeping  charges 
of  extravagance  were  occasionally  preferred,  but  they  were 
not  substantiated  by  proofs,  nor  did  they  prove  effective 
in  enforcing  economy  in  operation. 

The  following  statement  of  the  receipts  and  the  oper- 
ating expenses  for  each  month  of  the  Exposition  is  taken 
from  the  final  report  of  the  auditor,  William  K.  Ackerman, 
dated  June  30,  1895: 


Month. 

Receipts. 

Expenses. 

Net 

May_. 

$    616,140  61 

$593,757  20 

$     22,383  41 

T     f 
June      ... 

1,647,644  44 

630,595  20 

1,017,049  24 

July 

1  967,194  84 

598,319  97 

1,368  874  87 

•A      y   "V  

August 

2,337,856  25 

569,798  12 

1,768,058  13 

September 

3,169,938  92 

537,566  92 

2,632,372  00 

October        

4,456,870  33 

541,167  20 

3,915,703  13 

Totals  

$14,195,645  39 

$3,471,204  61 

$10,724,440  78 

Average  receipts  per  day  (exclusive  of  Sundays),  $89,845  85 
Average  expenses  per  day  (exclusive  of  Sundays),    21 ,969  64 

No  account  is  taken  of  construction  expenses  in  the 
above  statement,  only  such  charges  being  considered  as 
were  applicable  to  the  operation  of  the  Exposition  dur- 
ing the  six  months  of  its  continuance. 

In  Appendix  C  will  be  found  a  complete  statement 
of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  your  company.  This 
statement  may  be  affected  slightly  in  some  items  by  the 
final  disposition  of  pending  claims,  but  it  is  sufficient  for 
purposes  of  general  information. 

20 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


306 


REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 


TRANSPORTATION. 

Under  this  heading  I  refer  to  the  various  transporta- 
tion facilities  between  the  city  and  the  Exposition  grounds. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  estimates  its 
outlay  for  equipment  and  improvement  on  account  of 
Exposition  business  as  follows  : 

For  elevating  tracks $1,332,146 

Interlocking. 165,000 

World's  Fair  cars 300,000 

Locomotives 100,000 

Extra  salaries 183,000 

Station  platforms 25,000 

Total _ $2,105,146 

This  company  estimates  the  number  of  passengers 
carried  upon  its  trains  between  the  city  and  the  park  as 
follows : 


Month. 

Express  Trains. 

Suburban  Trains. 

May 

602,618 

1,300,750 

,     j  •-  

1,246,088 

1,514,526 

July..                               

1,267,720 

1,291,035 

August 

1,359,220 

1,421,231 

September                    

1,685,604 

1,786,374 

October 

2,618,143 

2,245,875 

Totals  

8,779,393 

9,559,791 

Total  of  both. 18,339,184 

By  other  trains 1,003,6T)0 

Grand  total 19,342,784 

Of  the  suburban  business  they  estimated  that  4,000,000 
were  World's  Fair  passengers,  this  being  about  the  amount 
of  the  increase  over  patronage  for  previous  years  for  cor- 
responding months. 

This  railroad  company  claims  that  its  facilities  were 
never  taxed  to  the  utmost,  and  that  with  the  equipment 
provided  it  could  have  carried  three  times  as  many  people 
without  appreciable  extra  expense.  In  view  of  the  great 
apprehension  as  to  transportation  facilities  which  existed  in 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW,  307 

the  early  stages  of  our  enterprise,  this  claim  is  interesting 
and  significant.  In  many  questions  as  to  the  handling  of 
large  gatherings  there  was  great  looseness  and  much  error 
in  our  estimates,  as  the  course  of  events  subsequently 
proved,  but  in  no  case  was  this  more  evident  than  as  to 
the  movement  of  visitors  from  the  city  to  Jackson  Park. 
Probably  the  success  in  this  respect  won  by  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  was  due  to  the  elevation  of  the  tracks, 
which  would  not  have  been  accomplished  but  for  the 
persistent  agitation  of  President  Baker. 

The  greatest  number  carried  by  this  road  on  one  day 
was  on  Chicago  day,  541,312.  During  the  season  this  road 
dispatched  from  Van  Buren  Street  Station  40,116  Exposi- 
tion express  trains,  consisting  of  368,733  cars,  usually  eight 
cars  to  a  train  ;  and  36,600  suburban  trains  with  219,600 
cars.  As  a  tribute  to  the  great  skill  displayed  in  handling 
these  trains,  it  must  be  added  that  "in  this  service  no  acci- 
dent occurred  resulting  in  death,  and  very  few  accidents  of 
even  trifling  importance. 

The  Alley  Elevated  Railroad  (Chicago  &  South  Side 
Rapid  Transit  Railroad)  landed  in  Jackson  Park  the  follow- 
ing number  of  passengers : 


May 255,165 

June 709,663 

July 634,047 


August 716,655 

September 832,497 

October..  .  1,214,382 


Total  for  six  months _ 4,352,409 

The  above  statement  includes  only  passengers  who  were 
brought  into  the  park,  whereas  the  statement  as  to  the 
Illinois  Central  represents  the  total  business  both  ways. 
Besides  this,  the  elevated  road  had  stations  outside,  but 
near  the  grounds,  at  which  many  passengers  were  dis- 
charged for  the  Exposition,  so  that  the  figures  of  the  two 
roads  can  not  properly  be  compared.  On  Chicago  day  the 
elevated  road  brought  into  the  park  294,000  people.  This 


308  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

railroad  estimates  its  expense  in  preparation  for  the  Expo- 
sition as  follows: 

Extra  expense  for  track  which  would  not  have  been 

built  but  for  the  Exposition _ $1 ,500,000 

Also  100  extra  cars  and  25  locomotives. 

The  extra  track  included  an  iron  bridge  220  feet  long 
over  the  Illinois  Central  tracks  at  Sixty-third  Street.  At 
this  point  the  unusual  spectacle  was  presented  of  three 
railroad  lines  crossing  each  other  at  different  grades.  The 
electric  cars  of  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company  ran 
along  Sixty-third  Street  at  grade;  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois 
Central  passed  over,  and  over  these  the  220-foot  bridge  of 
the  Elevated  Railroad. 

The  Chicago  City  Railway  discharged  passengers  at  four 
of  the  principal  entrances  to  the  Exposition,  as  follows:  The 
Hyde  Park  division  of  the  Cottage  Grove  Avenue  cable  line 
at  Fifty-seventh  Street;  the  Cottage  Grove  Avenue  line  at 
the  west  end  of  the  Midway;  and  the  Englewood  cross- town 
electric  roads  at  the  Sixty-second  and  Sixty-fourth  Street 
gates.  The  latter  also  connected  the  State  Street  cable 
line  with  the  Exposition  grounds.  The  Chicago  City  Rail- 
way Company,  in  preparation  for  the  Exposition  business, 
had  constructed  an  additional  loop  in  the  center  of  the 
city  for  its  Wabash  Avenue  and  Cottage  Grove  Avenue 
line.  This  line  had  previously  used  the  loop  of  the  State 
Street  cable  line. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  an  estimate  of  the  number  of 
visitors  carried  by  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company's 
lines  directly  to  the  Exposition,  as  the  company  had  at  all 
times  an  enormous  local  business.  Its  total  business  for 
the  six  months  of  the  Exposition  was  as  follows: 

Cottage  Grove  Avenue  cable 28,725,977 

State  Street  cable 19,790,348 

Sixty-first  and  Sixty-third  Street  electric  line...     7,511,110 

Total .  56,027,435 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW. 


309 


On  Chicago  day  the  business  of  these  lines  was  as 
follows : 

Cottage  Grove  Avenue 760,744 

State  Street 498,547 

Sixty-first  and  Sixty-third  Street 93,705 

Total 1,352,996 

The  South  Chicago  City  Railroad  Company  had  a  net- 
work of  tracks  extending  over  the  South  Chicago  and  Calu- 
met district,  including  Pullman.  This  company  improved 
and  extended  its  lines  on  account  of  the  Exposition  business 
and  had  a  terminal  on  Stony  Island  Avenue,  at  the  Sixty- 
fourth  Street  entrance.  Its  total  business  during  the  Expo- 
sition season  amounted  to  3,518,721. 

The  World's  Fair  Steamship  Company  received  from 
your  company  a  concession  giving  it  the  exclusive  right 
to  land  on  the  Exposition  grounds  people  coming  by  water 
from  Chicago,  and  from  all  points  on  the  lake  coast  between 
Kenosha,  Wis.,  on  the  north  and  East  Chicago  Harbor,  Ind., 
on  the  southeast.  Subsequently  this  contract  was  modified 
to  allow  other  boats  to  land  at  the  north  pier  on  payment 
of  a  small  wharfage  charge.  This  company  had  several 
boats  plying  between  the  city  and  the  park,  among  them 
the  large  whaleback  steamer  "Christopher  Columbus,"  built 
for  this  service,  capable  of  carrying  7,000  passengers,  and 
having  a  speed  of  twenty  miles  an  hour.  The  number  of 
people  brought  to  and  from  Jackson  Park  by  water  during 
the  Exposition  season  was  1,852,926. 

The  foregoing  data  are  taken  from  the  report  of  the 
general  manager  of  transportation,  who  obtained  them  from 
the  various  transportation  companies.  As  the  influence  of 
the  Exposition  upon  the  business  of  these  lines  can  not  be 
separately  shown,  the  significance  of  the  data  to  the  student 
of  expositions  is  somewhat  impaired.  The  various  trans- 
portation lines  leading  to  the  park  did  the  following  busi- 
ness during  the  Exposition  season: 


310  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad 19,342,684  , 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  World's  Fair  trains  .         24,984 

Excursion  trains ,  various  lines 79, 963 

Alley  Elevated  Railroad 22,371,499 

Chicago  City  Railway 56,027,435 

South  Chicago  City  Railroad 3,518,721 

Columbia  Coach  Company 45,155 

Steamboats  to  Jackson  Park 1,852,926 

Total .103,263,367 

Of  the  foregoing,  852,186  passed  through  the  Terminal 
Station,  and  4,352,409  through  the  elevated  railroad  sta- 
tion upon  the  roof  of  the  Annex  to  the  Transportation 
Exhibits  Building.  These  data  also  show  how  completely 
ineffective  was  the  original  plan  of  bringing  visitors  by 
railroad  directly  to  the  Court  of  Honor,  so  that  they  might 
obtain  at  this  point  their  first  glimpse  of  the  Exposition. 
This  idea  had  its  inspiration  in  the  desire  to  cause  the 
most  profound  impression  of  the  Exposition's  grandeur  by 
a  sort  of  coup  de  theatre  given  at  the  outset  when  the 
eye  and  the  mind  were  keenly  awake  for  the  perception 
of  the  beautiful  and  the  wonderful.  From  a  practical  point 
of  view  the  idea  was  bad,  as  it  involved  the  concentration 
of  a  large  crowd  at  one  point.  Possibly  we  have  reason 
to  be  deeply  thankful  that  our  beautiful  Terminal  Station 
was  not  generally  used,  and  that  the  reception  of  visitors 
was  distributed  all  along  the  west  side  of  Jackson  Park. 

INTRAMURAL    TRANSPORTATION. 

Under  this  head  I  refer  to  the  various  means  of  trans- 
portation within  the  Exposition  grounds  for  the  purpose 
of  moving  visitors  from  one  part  of  the  park  to  another, 
or  to  relieve  the  fatigue  of  seeing  exhibits.  These  were 
the  Intramural  Electric  Railway,  the  wheel  chairs,  the 
movable  sidewalk  on  the  great  pier,  the  electric  launches 
running  in  the  lagoons,  and  the  steam  launches  running 
through  the  water  gate  out  into  the  lake. 

The    Intramural    Railroad    had   an    elevated   structure 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  311 

3.11  miles  long  (double  track),  extending  along  the  north, 
west,  and  south  sides  of  the  park,  and  provided  with 
loops  at  the  terminals.  The  equipment  consisted  of 
fifteen  trains  of  four  cars  each,  each  car  being  forty-seven 
feet  long  and  seating  eighty-four  people ;  the  forward  car 
contained  the  motor.  Eight  cars  could  be  hauled  by  one 
motor  if  necessary.  The  speed  of  the  trains  averaged  ten 
miles  per  hour,  the  highest  speed  between  stations  being 
thirty  miles  per  hour.  The  interval  between  the  trains 
was  three  and  one-half  minutes ;  a  round  trip  was  made 
in  forty-two  minutes,  or  in  nineteen  minutes  from  loop  to 
loop,  with  two  minutes'  relay  at  each  end.  There  were 
eleven  stations,  requiring  twenty-two  stops  in  a  round  trip. 
The  system  used  for  operating  this  road  was  that  known 
as  the  "  third-rail  trolley  system."  The  third  rail  was  used 
as  the  conductor  of  electricity,  and  was  placed  at  the  side 
of  the  track,  twenty  inches  from  it  and  thirteen  inches 
above  it.  The  power  house  and  dynamos  used  for  the 
operation  of  this  road  were  remarkable  as  exhibits  and 
attracted  much  attention.  To  insure  immunity  from  acci- 
dents a  block  system  was  used,  by  means  of  which  brakes 
were  set  automatically,  and  so  remained  while  the  signal 
ahead  was  at  the  danger  position.  Only  one  case  of 
serious  personal  injury  occurred  in  the  operation  of  this 
road,  and  this  case  was  due  to  the  extreme  carelessness 
of  the  person  injured.  This  record  is  quite  remarkable 
when  we  consider  the  numbers  and  the  inexperience  of 
the  passengers,  conditions  which  required  all  the  energy 
and  watchfulness  of  the  employes  of  the  road.  The  fare 
for  riding  on  this  road  was  10  cents,  for  which,  at  first, 
a  passenger  was  allowed  to  ride  to  the  first  loop,  but 
afterward  as  long  as  desired.  The  total  number  of  pas- 
sengers carried  was  5,803,895,  an  average  of  34,143  per 
day  for  170  days,  or  27  per  cent  of  the  total  paid  admis- 


312  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

sions  to  the  Exposition  grounds.  .  Under  the  terms'  of 
this  concession  one-fourth  of  the  gross  receipts  was  paid 
to  the  Exposition. 

The  concession  for  wheel  chairs  was  granted  to  the 
Columbian  Roller  Chair  Company.  This  company  pro- 
vided 2,200  wheel  chairs  and  recruited  a  force  of  attend- 
ants, amounting  at  one  time  to  1,400,  chiefly  college  stu- 
dents. Twenty-two  stations  were  established,  all  connected 
by  telephone,  making  it  possible  to  concentrate  chairs 
wherever  a  special  demand  might  appear.  The  company 
was  led  to  employ  college  students,  believing  that  they 
would  prove  acceptable  to  the  patrons  as  intelligent  and 
well-informed  guides.  An  excellent  feature  of  the  plan 
was  that  it  gave  to  about  2,000  young  men  an  opportunity 
to  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Exposition.  Among 
others  there  were  about  seventy-five  colored  students  from 
Rusk  University,  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  and  Atlanta  Uni- 
versity. These  were  energetic,  faithful,  and  honest,  and 
gave  good  service.  The  chair  men  were  furnished  living 
quarters,  were  paid  $i  per  day  and  10  per  cent  of  their 
gross  receipts. 

In  the  latter  part  of  August  the  Columbian  Roller 
Chair  Company  reduced  the  charges  for  chairs,  and  also 
reduced  the  pay  of  attendants  to  75  cents  per  day.  This 
caused  dissatisfaction  among  the  students,  many  of  whom 
left.  Another  reason  for  their  leaving  was  that  their  vaca- 
tion season  was  nearly  over  and  they  wished  to  return 
to  their  colleges.  Their  places  at  the  roller  chairs  were 
quickly  filled  from  other  walks  of  life,  but  about  200 
students  remained  until  the  close  of  the  season.  The 
attendants  wore  a  light-blue  uniform  and  cap  and  pre- 
sented a  very  neat  appearance.  The  number  of  people 
who  used  the  chairs  was  794,100,  and  the  receipts  were 
about  $400,000. 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  313 

The  following  rates,  were  charged  until  August  24th : 

Chair  with  attendant,  per  hour *    75 

Chair  with  attendant,  per  half  hour '-.."..  40 

Chair  without  attendant,  per  hour 40 

Double  chair  for    two  persons,  with  attendant,  "pel- 
hour  1  00 

Double  chair  for  two  persons,  with  attendant,  per 

half  hour 60 

Day  rate  with  attendant ......11.1111  600 

Day  rate  without  attendant 350 

The  movable  sidewalk,  located  on  the  long  pier  east  of 
the  Peristyle,  was  operated  by  the  Multiple  Speed  &  Trac- 
tion Company.  Owing  to  numerous  delays  in  construction, 
it  was  not  operated  until  July,  after  which  time  it  carried 
997,785  people.  It  could  carry  6,000  persons,  and  moved  at 
the  rate  of  six  miles  per  hour. 

Transportation  on  the  lagoons  was  furnished  by  the 
electric  launches  and  the  Venetian  gondolas.  The  gondolas 
had  their  special  landings  at  suitable  points.  These  gon- 
dolas were  often  chartered  by  the  hour  for  private  parties. 
The  boats  of  the  Electric  Launch  &  Navigation  Company 
had  landing  places  at  convenient  points  all  along  the 
canals  and  lagoons.  They  were  driven  by  storage  bat- 
teries, which  received  at  night,  at  a  station  in  the  South 
Pond  near  the  Annex  of  the  Agricultural  Building,  a 
charge  sufficient  for  the  next  day's  demand.  As  these 
boats  were  not  fitted  for  lake  service,  they  could  not  go 
from  the  South  Pond  around  the  long  pier  into  the  Court 
of  Honor,  and  a  tunnel  was  made  between  the  Casino  and 
the  Agricultural  Building,  through  which  the  launches  and 
gondolas  could  pass. 

The  steam  launches  were  strong,  seaworthy  boats,  suit- 
able for  any  weather,  built  so  that  there  was  but  slight 
obstruction  to  view  from  the  decks.  They  ran  out  into 
the  lake  from  the  South  Pond,  the  Court  of  Honor,  and 
the  north  entrance  to  the  lagoons,  giving  to  visitors  a 
pleasant  trip  and  a  water  view  of  the  Exposition. 


314  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  intramural  transportation  was  as  follows  : 

Intramural  Electric  Railway 5,803,895 

Wheel  chairs 794,100 

Movable  sidewalk 997,785 

Electric  launches 923,613 

Steam  launches 195,621 

Venetian  gondolas 124,952 

Total 8,839,966 

The  above  data  should  not  be  regarded  as  a  fair  state- 
ment of  the  amount  of  internal  transportation  which  can  be 
depended  on  in  an  exposition.  Could  the  intramural  road 
have  been  so  placed  as  to  give  a  fair  view  of  the  Exposition 
and  be  at  the  same  time  more  convenient  for  patrons,  a 
larger  business  could  surely  have  been  secured.  A  surface 
line,  or  a  road  slightly  depressed,  having  a  low  fence  on 
either  side,  would  prove  vastly  more  attractive  and  com- 
fortable. 

Wheel  chairs  are  necessarily  too  expensive  to  be  gener- 
ally used,  but  they  will  always  command  good  patronage 
from  persons  of  means,  or  from  those  who  are  feeble  or 
in  poor  health. 

The  electric  launches  often  found  their  business  limited 
only  by  their  capacity  to  handle  it,  but  the  danger  of 
collision  was  such  as  to  make  it  unwise  to  put  a  large  fleet 
of  boats  on  the  lagoons.  The  number  of  these  boats  was 
limited  to  fifty. 

ORGANIZATION    AND    ADMINISTRATION. 

A  few  comments  upon  our  organization  and  the  various 
Acts  of  Congress  relating  to  the  Exposition  are  certainly 
in  order. 

While  the  Exposition  has  been  a  success  and  has 
achieved  many  triumphs,  there  was  much  that  could  have 
been  vastly  improved  upon.  Mistakes  and  failures  were 
numerous  in  the  course  of  its  history.  It  was  hampered 
by  its  dual  organization,  consisting  of  a  National  Commis- 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  315 

sion  on  the  one  hand  and  of  a  corporation  with  its  gov- 
erning Board  of  Directors  on  the  other. 

The  method  of  choosing  the  members  of  the  Commission 
introduced  into  it  elements  little  calculated  to  promote 
harmonious  and  satisfactory  action.  Moreover,  had  there 
been  no  objectionable  element  whatever,  the  result  could 
hardly  have  been  different,  for  persons  of  the  highest 
wisdom  and  learning  are  not  less  tenacious  of  their  pre- 
rogatives than  those  whose  minds  are  less  nobly  equipped. 
The  fault  was  primarily  with  the  law  which  authorized 
the  Exposition.  It  provided  for  two  distinct  organizations, 
and  left  room  for  honest  differences  of  opinion  between 
the  members  of  those  organizations  as  to  the  extent  of 
their  control  over  the  enterprise.  The  commissioners  were 
appointed  by  the  President  upon  nominations  of  the  Gov- 
ernors of  the  several  States.  In  some  instances  the  nomi- 
nations were  controlled  by  persons  more  or  less  intimately 
involved  in  local  politics,  without  reference  to  their  fitness 
for  the  work  of  creating  an  exposition.  I  do  not  wish  to 
belittle  the  services  and  reputation  of  many  members  of 
the  Commission,  by  no  means  of  the  class  above  described, 
but  of  whom  it  must  still  be  said  that  many  of  them  were 
not  constant  in  their  attendance  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Commission.  Their  places  were  too  frequently  filled  by 
their  alternates.  They  often  found  themselves  out  of 
touch  with  the  work  of  the  Exposition,  and  perhaps  not 
in  sympathy  with  the  proceedings  of  the  body  of  which 
they  were  members.  Besides,  they  were  usually  men  whose 
time  was  in  constant  demand  at  their  several  homes,  and 
of  course  they  were  not  moved  by  that  spirit  of  local  pride 
which  induced  citizens  of  Chicago  to  sacrifice  their  busi- 
ness interests  for  the  good  of  the  cause. 

Within  a  few  months  after  the  World's  Columbian  Com- 
mission and  the  Board  of  Directors  were  organized,  each 


316  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

body  had  a  full  set  of  officers,  by-laws,  rules  of  order  and 
procedure,  and  lists  of  committees,  the  latter  being  almost 
exactly  alike.  The  two  bodies  became  at  once  involved  in 
disputes,  through  the  press  and  otherwise,  over  the  various 
points  where  jurisdictional  lines  were  supposed  to  cross. 
The  friction  and  loss  of  time  occasioned  by  this  were  suffi- 
cient to  have  wrecked  an  enterprise  of  far  less  magnitude 
than  ours.  Disputes  sprang  up  between  the  officers  of  the 
two  bodies  ;  jealousies  were  engendered  and  time  was  spent 
in  criticism  and  negotiations  that  should  rather  have  been 
given  to  the  work  of  preparation  for  the  Exposition.  The 
outcome  was,  that  leading  minds  in  both  bodies  drew  closer 
together  in  the  endeavor  to  control  the  situation  in  the 
interest  of  harmony  and  to  stop  the  disputes  which  were 
breeding  scandal. 

Having  thus  frankly  criticised  the  organization  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Commission,  it  is  only  fair  to  pay  a 
tribute  of  gratitude  and  respect  to  those  members  whose 
participation  in  our  labor  was  at  the  expense  of  personal 
sacrifice  of  their  time  and  convenience,  and  whose  minds 
were  actuated  by  broad  and  noble  impulses  and  a  sincere 
desire  to  see  an  exposition  created  that  would  do  honor 
to  the  occasion  and  the  country.  First  and  foremost  I 
must  mention  my  friend  and  colleague  of  the  Council  of 
Administration,  George  V.  Massey  of  Delaware,  whose  ser- 
vices in  that  capacity  have  already  been  referred  to.  To 
mention  his  name  again  is  sufficient  to  you,  for  he  is  borne 
in  affectionate  remembrance  by  all  of  you  who  came  in 
contact  with  him,  and  by  many  more  of  the  officers  and 
employes  of  the  Exposition.  Thomas  W.  Palmer  of  Michi- 
gan, the  genial  president  of  the  World's  Columbian  Com- 
mission, presided  over  its  deliberations  from  the  first  to 
the  last,  and  gave  to  the  Commission's  business  much  of 
his  personal  time  at  a  sacrifice  of  his  convenience  and 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   RE  VIE  IV.  317 

private  means.  William  Lindsay  of  Kentucky  served  as 
a  member  of  the  first  commission  sent  to  Europe  in  the 
interest  of  the  Exposition,  but  later  severed  his  connection 
with  the  commission  when  he  entered  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  A.  G.  Bullock  of  Massachusetts  served  upon 
the  same  commission  to  Europe.  Gorton  W.  Allen  of  New 
York  was  a  commissioner-at-large.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  commission  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  New  York 
and  was  prominently  identified  with  the  work  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ceremonies.  Ex- Governor  Thomas  M.  Waller 
of  Connecticut  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Reference 
and  Control,  as  was  Robert  L.  Saunders  of  Mississippi. 
John  Boyd  Thacher  of  New  York,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Awards,  should  also  be  named.  It  is  perhaps 
unjust  to  mention  these  without  referring  to  others  who 
had  the  cause  of  the  Exposition  and  the  national  honor 
close  at  heart,  and  cast  their  votes  and  gave  their  voice  for 
these  objects  whenever  they  attended  the  meetings  of  the 
Commission.  There  were  many  who  cooperated  ably  and 
sincerely.  Nevertheless  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  any  future 
exposition  may  be  spared  the  dangers  which  lie  in  such 
an  organization  as  that  with  which  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  was  hampered.  From  what  I  have  been  able 
to  learn  it  appears  that  the  Centennial  Exhibition  met 
with  the  same  trouble,  only  in  a  less  degree. 

The  last  and  most  important  consequence  of  these  dis- 
putes was  the  impossibility  of  enforcing  throughout  the 
entire  organization  of  the  Exposition  from  top  to  bottom 
that  severe  discipline  and  prompt  obedience  to  orders 
which,  coupled  with  sound  discretion,  are  necessary  charac- 
teristics of  any  great  combination  of  workers,  whether  for 
governmental,  commercial,  manufacturing,  or  other  pur- 
poses. Discipline  suffered  greatly,  except  in  such  cases  as 
the  Department  of  Works  or  the  departments  of  Admis- 


318  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

sions  and  Collections,  where  individual  officers,  gifted  with 
a  genius  for  organization,  ruled  with  a  firm  hand  and 
pursued  their  objects  with  irresistible  energy.  Even  in 
these  cases  it  was  frequently  found  impossible  to  bend 
and  control  these  well-organized  branches  to  the  will  of 
superior  officers. 

The  supreme  control  of  an  exposition  can  not  be  com- 
mitted to  the  citizens  of  the  locality  in  which  it  is  to  be 
held.  The  citizens  of  Chicago  would  have  deprecated  such 
a  proposition.  It  would  have  destroyed  the  national  charac- 
ter of  the  enterprise.  Neither  can  it  be  handed  over  to  a 
heterogeneous  assemblage  of  appointees  of  the  Governors 
of  fifty  States  and  Territories.  If  a  system  could  be 
devised  which  would  place  the  entire  control  of  an  exposi- 
tion in  one  small  body,  whose  members  were  chosen  for 
their  peculiar  fitness  for  the  work  in  hand,  the  troubles 
which  we  encountered  would  be  lessened  by  half.  In  the 
composition  of  such  a  body,  perhaps  one-half  might  be 
representatives  of  the  locality  undertaking  the  chief  respon- 
sibility for  the  enterprise  —  as  was  the  case  in  Chicago 
—  and  the  other  half  men  chosen  for  their  learning  and 
experience,  from  various  parts  of  the  country,  whose  attend- 
ance could  be  relied  upon,  even  though  at  the  cost  of  a 
heavy  charge  for  salaries. 

Suppose  such  a  body  chosen  and  endowed  with  ample 
powers  and  resources,  I  would  suggest  that  it  organize  its 
executive  force  as  follows : 

A  chief  executive  officer  should  be  chosen,  from  either 
within  or  without  its  own  number,  but  if  the  latter,  he 
should  become,  for  all  practical  purposes,  a  member  of  the 
body.  This  chief  executive  officer  should  have  absolute 
power  to  organize  his  administrative  force,  appointing  and 
discharging  at  will,  his  acts  being  in  a  general  way  subject 
to  the  approval  and  supervision  of  the  superior  body.  He 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  319 

should  divide  his  work  into  three  branches,  each  assigned 
to  a  chief  officer,  as  follows : 

First,  Exhibition.  This  should  include  promotion,  allot- 
ment of  space,  installation,  and  awards. 

Second,  Construction,  Maintenance,  and  Operation.  This 
should  include  the  physical  forces  necessary  for  receiving 
exhibits  and  depositing  them  at  the  point  of  installation, 
and  for  removing  and  shipping  them  at  the  close  of 
the  exposition,  janitor  service,  policing,  fire  department, 
mechanical,  electrical,  etc. 

Third,  Finance.  This  should  include  the  treasury,  the 
auditing  department,  concessions,  admissions,  and  possibly 
a  comptroller  to  exercise  general  supervision  over  the 
expenditures  throughout  the  whole  period  of  construction, 
installation,  and  operation. 

Such  an  organization  would  prevent,  in  a  large  degree, 
the  bringing  of  numberless  details  to  the  office  of  the  chief 
executive,  and  relieve  him  from  administering  upon  those 
matters  of  minor  importance  which,  in  a  good  organization^ 
would  be  properly  adjusted  by  subordinate  hands.  The 
chief  executive  would  then  be  free  to  extend  proper  atten- 
tion to  the  representatives  of  foreign  governments  and  to 
see  that  the  proprieties  and  official  courtesies  incident  to 
the  holding  of  an  international  exposition  were  properly 
observed.  It  would  also  permit  him  to  attend  to  matters 
of  general  policy.  To  still  further  relieve  him,  a  chief  of 
foreign  affairs  could  be  appointed  who  would  be  the  assist- 
ant to  the  chief  officer,  and  closely  associated  with  him. 

A  slight  modification  of  the  above  plan  would  be  the 
creating  of  a  fourth  general  division,  charged  with  the 
duty  of  judging  and  awarding.  Of  this  I  feel  hardly  com- 
petent to  speak  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  as  the  matter 
of  awards  was  never,  in  any  way,  under  the  control  of 
your  company. 


320  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT, 

JANITOR    SERVICE. 

One  of  the  most  important  items  of  the  administration 
of  an  exposition  is  the  janitor  service.  In  our  Exposition 
it  was  under  the  control  of  the  Department  of  Works, 
although  many  contended  that  it  should  have  been  under 
the  direct  control  of  each  exhibit  officer,  so  far  as  it  related 
to  his  building.  The  problem  is  full  of  difficulty,  for  upon 
it  hinges  the  question  of  guarding  exhibits,  the  cleanliness 
of  the  buildings,  and  the  possibility  of  theft.  It  ought  to 
be  possible  to  have  the  janitor  work  done  under  contract, 
the  contractor  having  the  right  to  arrange  with  exhibitors 
for  the  janitor  work  of  their  spaces  at  a  fixed  price  per 
square  foot.  In  our  case  the  janitor  work  for  the  aisles 
and  public  spaces  was  done  by  a  corps  of  janitors  con- 
trolled by  the  Department  of  Works,  and  entirely  without 
the  control  of  the  chiefs  of  the  exhibit  departments  in  the 
several  buildings.  The  cost  of  janitor  service  was  more 
than  $200,000.  Assuming  the  chief  of  each  exhibit  depart- 
ment located  in  each  exhibit  building  to  be  a  man  of 
first-rate  executive  ability,  I  am  inclined  to  recommend 
that  he  have  absolute  control  of  his  building  in  every 
respect,  including  not  only  the  janitor  service,  but  the 
guard  stationed  in  the  building.  Under  this  arrangement 
the  chief  officer  of  the  'guard  in  each  building  would 
be  subject  to  the  direction  of  the  department  chief,  except 
in  matters  affecting  the  safety  of  the  public,  the  regula- 
tions of  fire  protection,  etc.  I  speak  with  hesitation  upon 
this  subject,  as  it  is  perhaps  the  most  important  of  all. 
The  safety  of  exhibits  and  buildings  from  theft  and  fire 
hinge  largely  upon  it.  I  believe,  however,  that  if  the  offi- 
cers of  the  various  branches  of  an  exposition  are  fairly 
competent,  and  well  disposed,  the  details  of  the  control  of 
janitor  service  and  the  guarding  of  exhibits  can  be  easily 
adjusted.  On  the  other  hand,  where  there  is  jealousy  and 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW. 


321 


contention,  pretexts  can  easily  and  almost  unconsciously 
be  found  for  causing  whatever  system  is  adopted  to  prove 
faulty. 

The  Administration  Building  should  be  constructed  with 
a  view  to  the  highest  utility.  Beauty  should  be  secondary, 
although,  of  course,  it  should  be  considered  as  far  as  possi- 
ble without  endangering  utility.  The  building  should  be 
large  enough  to  accommodate  the  entire  central  adminis- 
trative force,  including  the  chief  officers  of  the  exhibit, 
operating  and  financial  departments.  In  our  Exposition 
the  offices  of  your  president  and  of  the  director-general 
were  separated  from  the  offices  of  the  director  of  works, 
the  commandant  of  the  guard,  the  auditor,  treasurer,  and 
the  superintendents  of  admissions  and  collections,  by  the 
distance  of  half  a  mile,  the  only  connection  being  an  inade- 
quate telephone  service.  The  Administration  Building 
should  include  living  rooms  for  those  officers  whose  services 
are  in  constant  demand,  and  whose  presence  by  day  and 
by  night  would  be  necessary.  There  should  be  a  mess- 
room  or  private  restaurant  for  such  officers  as  were  required 
to  live  on  the  grounds,  and  a  private  lunch-room  for  the 
entire  force  employed  in  the  Administration  Building.  The 
time  lost  by  officers  and  employes  in  securing  meals  upon 
crowded  days  is  a  very  serious  matter. 

Finally,  and  in  conclusion,  the  perfection  and  complete- 
ness of  a  system  will  never  compensate  for  the  limitations 
of  human  capacity.  The  shortcomings  of  officers  and 
employes,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  will  ever  give 
ground  for  criticism  and  complaint,  no  matter  how  wise 
may  be  those  who  frame  the  laws  of  the  organization. 
There  will  always  be  abundant  opportunity  for  those  "whose 
minds  are  charged  with  no  other  labor  than  the  criticism 
of  the  efforts  of  others. 

It  is  a  pleasant  task  to  acknowledge  in  these  closing 

21 


322  REPORT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

lines  the  faithful  services  of  the  two  secretaries  whose 
desks  were  in  the  same  room  with  my  own,  and  who  cheer- 
fully bore  their  share  of  the  daily  and  nightly  labor  of  the 
office.  To  Amory  W.  Sawyer,  secretary  of  the  Council  of 
Administration,  and  to  Howard  O.  Edmonds,  secretary  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  I  extend  sincere  thanks, 
and  I  commend  their  services  to  the  directors  of  the  com- 
pany. I  desire  also  to  acknowledge  the  assistance  of  Mr. 
Edmonds  in  the  preparation  of  this  report. 

It  is  likely  that  those  who  have  served  at  different 
times  upon  the  Board  of  Directors  often  feel  that  the 
services  they  rendered  to  the  cause  of  the  Exposition  have 
not  been  fully  understood  and  appreciated  by  the  stock- 
holders and  the  public.  Nor  is  this  lack  of  due  apprecia- 
tion to  be  wondered  at.  One  who  has  not  shared  in  the 
labors,  trials,  anxieties,  and  disappointments  of  our  Exposi- 
tion work  can  not  understand  the  sacrifices  of  comfort, 
health,  time,  and  money  made  by  those  who  served  as 
directors  of  the  Exposition,  nor  the  forbearance  they  were 
called  upon  to  exercise  under  misdirected  criticism  and 
other  trying  circumstances. 

Futhermore,  it  is  quite  impossible  that  the  writer,  in 
this  review,  can  have  succeeded  in  doing  exact  justice  to 
the  services  of  each  one  who  labored  in  his  field  for  the 
success  of  the  Columbian  Exposition.  I  ask  your  indul- 
gence where  defects  are  discovered,  and  claim  only  that 
an  honest  effort  has  been  made  to  cover,  in  a  general  way, 
the  entire  subject  of  your  company's  operations  and  the 
work  of  the  men  who  contributed  to  the  success  of  those 
operations.  Such  reward  as  the  directors  may  have  won 
consists  not  in  the  approbation  of  our  fellow-citizens,  but 
in  the  consciousness  of  a  hard  public  service  well  per- 
formed. 

With   all   the  shortcomings  and  failures,  with   all   the 


POST-EXPOSITION   WORK:   REVIEW.  323 

false  rumors  and  sensational  reports,  with  the  shortness  of 
time,  with  the  heavy  financial  burden  and  the  coldness 
and  lack  of  sympathy  of  the  National  Government,  not- 
withstanding these  and  many  other  difficulties,  our  Expo- 
sition stamped  itself  indelibly  upon  the  closing  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  has  left  a  mark  upon  our 
times,  particularly  in  matters  of  taste  and  refinement,  that 
seems  to  grow  deeper  as  the  Exposition  vanishes  into  the 
past.  Its  effect  upon  the  industries  has  probably  been 
very  great,  but  so  diffused  that  it  can  not  be  closely  esti- 
mated or  justly  appreciated.  The  effect  upon  our  beloved 
city  has  been  to  emphasize  its  position  as  a  great  metrop- 
olis and  an  abiding  place  of  energy,  business  enterprise, 
and  high  ambitions. 


APPENDIX   "A." 


THE  WORLD'S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY  OF  THE  WORLD'S 
COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION.* 

The  World's  Congresses  of  1893  were  first  publicly  pro- 
posed by  Charles  C.  Bonney  in  an  article  dated  September 
20, 1889,  and  printed  in  the  Statesman  Magazine  for  October 
of  that  year.  A  proof-sheet  of  this  article  was  shown  by 
the  editor,  Walter  Thomas  Mills,  to  Judge  L.  D.  Thoman, 
Prof.  David  Swing,  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  E.  Nelson  Blake,  Rev. 
Dr.  P.  S.  Henson,  and  Rev.  Dr.  John  Henry  Barrows,  all  of 
whom  wrote  brief  letters  commending  the  project,  which 
were  printed  in  connection  with  the  article  in  the  magazine. 
Advance  copies  were  furnished  to  the  Chicago  press  and 
reprinted  or  noticed  with  favorable  comments.  The  pro- 
posal was  received  with  remarkable  favor,  and  Mr.  Bonney 
was  at  once  called  upon  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Early  in 
October  a  general  committee  selected  by  Mr.  Bonney  was 
appointed  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  provisional 
organization  for  the  Columbian  Exposition,  and  on  October 
1 5th  this  committee  held  its  first  meeting.  It  consisted  of 
Charles  C.  Bonney,  chairman;  Lyman  J.  Gage,  treasurer; 
Walter  Thomas  Mills,  secretary;  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows, 
D.  D.,  William  J.  Onahan,  John  J.  Mitchell,  Ferdinand  W. 
Peck,  Rev.  John  Henry  Barrows,  D.  D.,  Julius  Rosenthal, 
and  John  A.  Neander. 

The  original  proposal  of  the  World's  Congresses  was 
printed  in  circular  form  and  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  historic  importance  of  this  document  leads  to  its  sub- 
stantial reproduction  here.  It  was  then  proposed  that  the 
World's  Fair  be  held  in  1892,  and  this  date  was  accordingly 
used  in  the  announcement,  which  was  as  follows: 

*  Prepared  by  Charles  C.  Bonney. 

(325) 


326  APPENDIX  "A." 

The  crowning  glory  of  the  World's  Fair  of  1892  should  not  be  the 
exhibit,  then  to  be  made,  of  the  material  triumphs,  industrial  achieve- 
ments, and  mechanical  victories  of  man,  however  magnificent  that  dis- 
play may  be.  Something  still  higher  and  nobler  is  demanded  by  the 
enlightened  and  progressive  spirit  of  the  present  age. 

In  connection  with  that  important  event,  the  world  of  government, 
jurisprudence,  finance,  science,  literature,  education,  and  religion  should 
be  represented  in  a  congress  of  statesmen,  jurists,  financiers,  scientists, 
literati,  teachers,  and  theologians,  greater  in  numbers  and  more  widely 
representative  of"  peoples,  nations,  and  tongues"  than  any  assemblage 
which  has  ever  yet  been  convened. 

The  benefits  of  such  a  parliament  of  nations  would  be  higher  and 
more  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  mankind  than  those  which  would  flow 
from  the  material  exposition,  though  it  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate 
the  powerful  impetus  that  will  be  given  by  the  latter  to  commerce,  and 
all  the  arts  by  which  toil  is  lightened,  the  fruits  of  labor  increased,  and 
the  comforts  of  life  augmented. 

For  such  a  congress,  convened  under  circumstances  so  auspicious, 
would  surpass  all  previous  efforts  to  bring  about  a  real  fraternity  of 
nations,  and  unite  the  enlightened  people  of  the  whole  earth  in  a  general 
cooperation  for  the  attainment  of  the  great  ends  for  which  the  human 
society  is  organized. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  advantages  that  would  result  from 
the  mere  establishment  of  personal  acquaintance  and  friendly  relations 
among  the  leaders  of  the  intellectual  world  who  now,  for  the  most  part, 
know  each  other  only  through  the  interchange  of  publications  and,  per- 
haps, the  formalities  of  correspondence. 

Among  the  great  themes  that  such  a  congress  would  naturally  con- 
sider are  the  following : 

I.  The  grounds  of  fraternal  union  in  the  language,  literature,  do- 
mestic life,  religion,  science,  art,  and  civil  institutions  of  different  people. 

II.  The  economic,  industrial,  and  financial  problems  of  the  age. 

III.  Educational  systems,  their  advantages  and  their  defects  ;  and 
the  means  by  which  they  may  best  be  adapted  to  the  recent  enormous 
increase  in  all  departments  of  knowledge. 

IV.  The  practicability  of  a  common  language  for  use  in  the  com- 
mercial relations  of  the  civilized  world. 

V.  International  copyright,  and  the  laws  of  intellectual  property 
and  commerce. 

VI.  Immigration  and  naturalization  laws,  and  the  proper  interna- 
tional privileges  of  alien  governments,  and  their  subjects  or  citizens. 

VII.  The  most  efficient  and  advisable  means  of  preventing  or  de- 
creasing pauperism,  insanity,  and  crime  ;  and  of  increasing  productive 
ability,  prosperity,  and  virtue  throughout  the  world. 

VIII.  International  law  as  a  bond  of  union  and  a  means  of  mutual 
protection  ;  and  how  it  may  be  enlarged,  perfected,  and  authoritatively 
expressed. 


WORLD'S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY.  327 

IX.  The  establishment  of  the  principles  of  judicial  justice  as  the 
supreme  law  of  international  relations;  and  the  general  substitution  of 
arbitration  for  war  in  the  settlement  of  international  controversies. 

Arrangements  should  be  made  both  for  general  meetings  of  all,  and 
separate  meetings  of  each,  of  the  different  classes  of  members.  Each 
class  should  form  its  own  congress,  and  all  united  would  constitute  the 
grand  general  assembly.  Astronomers,  geologists,  physicians,  religious 
leaders,  financiers,  philologists,  and  others,  should  have  independent 
opportunities  to  exchange  views  and  consider  pending  questions,  while 
the  general  congress  should  have  the  privilege  of  hearing  from  the 
chosen  representatives  of  each  class  a  presentation  of  what  they  might 
deem  conducive  to  the  general  welfare.  The  separate  congresses  of  the 
various  classes  would  be  incomparably  important  and  useful;  the  grand 
general  assembly,  in  which  the  leaders  of  every  great  department  of 
human  progress  could  see  the  faces  and  hear  the  voices  of  each  other  in 
fraternal  greetings  and  formal  addresses,  would  constitute  a  spectacle 
of  such  intellectual  and  moral  majesty  that  to  behold  it  would  repay  a 
journey  around  the  world.  Should  any  class  be  too  numerous  to  attend 
the  general  meetings  en  masse,  it  could  send  the  proper  number  of 
delegates. 

The  proposal  was  received  with  quite  as  marked  favor 
abroad  as  had  attended  its  announcement  at  home.  Favor- 
able responses  flowed  in  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  contain- 
ing promises  of  cooperation  from  distinguished  leaders  in 
most  of  the  countries  interested  in  the  proposed  Columbian 
Exposition. 

The  work  of  organization  proceeded  with  great  rapidity, 
and  it  soon  became  manifest  that  a  larger  organization 
would  be  required  to  conduct  it  to  satisfactory  results. 
Accordingly,  on  October  30,  1890,  the  World's  Congress 
Auxiliary  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  was  organ- 
ized with  the  following  officers  :  President,  Charles  C.  Bon- 
ney ;  vice-president,  Thomas  B.  Bryan ;  treasurer,  Lyman 
J.  Gage ;  secretary,  Benjamin  Butterworth.  Howard  O. 
Edmonds,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Butterworth  as  secretary  of 
the  Exposition,  was  for  some  time  assistant  secretary  of  the 
Auxiliary,  and  was  succeeded  in  that  office  by  Clarence  E. 
Young. 

The  formal  announcement  of  the  World's  Congress 
scheme  was  sent  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to 
foreign  nations,  in  connection  with  the  Act  of  Congress  and 
the  President's  proclamation  and  invitation  to  foreign  nations 


328  APPENDIX  "A." 

to  participate  in  the  Columbian  Exposition.  It  was  at  first 
supposed  that  the  Auxiliary  would  come  within  the  scope  of 
the  Columbian  Commission  created  by  the  Act  of  Congress, 
but  President  Harrison  having  expressed  a  doubt  on  this 
point,  a  formal,  recognition  of  the  Auxiliary  in  a  subsequent 
Act  of  the  Congress  was  procured  ;  and  on  May  25,  1892,  the 
World's  Congress  Auxiliary  was  formally  recognized  by  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  a  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations,  as  the  proper  agency  to  conduct 
international  congresses  in  connection  with  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition.  On  June  i3th  of  that  year  the 
diplomatic  and  consular  officers  of  the  United  States  were 
directed  by  the  Department  of  State  to  invite  the  cordial 
and  hearty  cooperation  of  the  governments  to  which  they 
were  accredited,  and  to  use  their  best  endeavors  to  procure 
such  cooperation  in  the  series  of  world's  congresses  then 
projected.  On  October  21,  1892,  the  inaugural  ceremonies 
of  the  world's  congresses  were  held  in  the  Chicago  Audito- 
rium, with  Archbishop  Ireland  as  the  orator  of  the  occasion. 

The  printed  publications  of  the  Auxiliary  declared  that 
it  was  the  leading  idea  of  the  world's  congresses  of  1893  to 
bring  the  leaders  of  human  progress  from  the  various  coun- 
tries of  the  world  together  at  Chicago,  during  the  season  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  for  the  purposes  of  mu- 
tual acquaintance  and  the  establishment  of  fraternal  rela- 
tions, and  that  the  chief  work  of  the  congresses  would  be 
to  review  the  achievements  already  made  in  the  various 
departments  of  enlightened  life,  and  sum  up  in  each  con- 
gress the  progress  of  the  world  in  the  department  involved, 
to  the  date  of  the  congress ;  to  make  a  clear  statement  of 
the  living  questions  of  the  day  which  still  demanded  atten- 
tion, and  to  receive  from  eminent  representatives  of  all 
interests,  classes,  and  peoples,  suggestions  of  the  practical 
means  by  which  further  progress  might  be  made  and  the 
prosperity  and  peace  of  the  world  advanced. 

The  world's  congress  work  was  finally  organized  in 
twenty  departments,  with  more  than  200  general  divisions  in 
which  congresses  were  held.  These  congresses  were  distrib- 
uted through  the  six  months  of  the  Exposition  season.  In 
the  limited  space  which  can  be  allotted  to  the  Auxiliary  in 


WORLD'S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY.  329 

this  report,  only  the  briefest  mention  can  be  made  to  the 
different  congresses  held  and  the  work  accomplished. 

The  opening  session  of  the  congresses  was  held  on  Mon- 
day, May  15,  1893,  and  was  immediately  followed  by  the 
congresses  of  the  Department  of  Woman's  Progress,  which 
was  the  first  in  chronological  order,  and  continued  during 
the  week.  This  department  embraced  a  general  congress, 
twenty-three  division  and  eight  section  congresses ;  and 
presented  the  progress  of  women  in  education,  industry, 
literature  and  art,  moral  and  social  reform,  philanthropy  and 
charity,  civil  law  and  government,  and  religion.  The  attend- 
ance was  very  large,  and  in  importance  and  comprehensive- 
ness it  was  agreed  that  the  congress  far  surpassed  all 
previous  assemblages  of  women. 

The  congresses  of  the  Department  of  the  Public  Press 
occupied  the  week  commencing  Monday,  May  22d,  and 
embraced  all  the  leading  divisions  of  newspaper  work.  The 
press  women's  congress  and  the  religious  press  congress 
attracted  special  attention. 

The  Department  of  Medicine  and  Surgery  was  assigned 
to  the  week  commencing  May  29th  ;  and  the  electric  medical 
congress,  the  homeopathic  congress,  and  the  congress  on 
medico-climatology  were  held  during  this  week.  The  dental 
congress,  the  pharmaceutical  congress,  and  the  congress  on 
medical  jurisprudence  were,  for  special  reasons,  held  later 
in  the  season. 

The  Department  of  Temperance  occupied  the  week  com- 
mencing June  5th,  and  embraced  a  representation  of  all 
branches  of  the  temperance  work.  There  were  also  held  in 
connection  with  this  department  a  social  purity  congress 
and  a  vegetarian  congress,  both  of  which  attracted  special 
attention. 

The  Department  of  Moral  and  Social  Reform  was 
assigned  to  the  week  commencing  June  i2th,  and  occupied 
all  of  that  week  and  a  part  of  the  preceding  week.  The  con- 
gresses of  this  department  were  of  the  highest  rank,  and 
embraced  the  whole  range  of  subjects  indicated  by  the  title, 
including  charities,  correction,  and  philanthropy  in  all  their 
forms ;  the  public  treatment  of  pauperism ;  the  care  of 
neglected  and  abandoned  children ;  hospital  care  of  the  sick, 


330 


APPENDIX  "A." 


training  of  nurses,  etc. ;  treatment  of  the  insane ;  prevention 
and  repression  of  crime,  etc.;  charity  organization  and  pre- 
ventive work ;  and  the  study  of  sociology  in  institutions  of 
learning.  The  humane  societies  congress  and  the  congress 
of  waif  savers  were  held  on  later  dates. 

The  congresses  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Finance  commenced  on  June  ipth  and  occupied  the  residue 
of  the  montlv  embracing  banking  and  finance,  boards  of 
trade,  railway  commerce,  insurance,  mercantile  credits,  and 
building  and  loan  associations.  The  water  commerce  con- 
gress of  this  department  was  held  in  connection  with  the 
Department  of  Engineering.  The  papers  prepared  for  this 
series  of  congresses  were  of  a  highly  meritorious  character, 
and  arrangements  had  been  made  to  secure  a  large  attend- 
ance of  bankers,  merchants,  and  others  interested,  from  our 
own  and  other  countries,  but  the  outbreak  of  the  severe 
financial  panic  of  1893  occurred  at  the  time  assigned  for  the 
opening  of  the  congresses  of  this  department,  and  naturally 
resulted  in  preventing  the  expected  attendance,  which  was 
therefore  small.  But  otherwise  these  congresses  were  highly 
creditable. 

On  July  3d  the  congresses  of  the  Department  of  Music 
were  opened.  They  embraced  eight  general  divisions,  and 
continued  during  the  week.  The  women's  musical  congress 
attracted  special  attention. 

The  Department  of  Literature  occupied  the  week  com- 
mencing July  loth,  and  embraced  an  authors'  congress,  an 
historical  congress,  a  congress  of  librarians,  a  philological 
congress,  and  a  congress  on  folklore.  These  congresses 
were  attended  by  many  distinguished  persons,  and  the 
attendance  at  the  principal  meetings  was  very  large.  The 
folklore  congress  confessedly  surpassed  any  other  previously 
held,  and  closed  with  a  very  remarkable  folklore  concert,  in 
which  a  large  number  of  countries  were  represented. 

The  congresses  of  the  Department  of  Education  embraced 
thirty-four  general  divisions  and  extended  through  two 
weeks.  Many  of  these  congresses  were  of  the  highest  rank, 
and  as  a  whole  were  declared  by  eminent  educators  to  sur- 
pass any  educational  conventions  previously  held.  Among 
the  educational  congresses  which  excited  especial  interest 


WORLD'S  CONGRESS  A  UXILIAR  Y.  331 

were  those  of  manual  and  art  education,  kindergarten  educa- 
tion, the  education  of  the  deaf  and  the  blind,  business  and 
commercial  education,  higher  education,  and  the  congress  of 
colored  educators. 

The  Department  of  Engineering  and  the  Department  of 
Art  occupied  the  week  commencing  July  3ist.  The  engin- 
eering congresses  embraced  civil,  mechanical,  mining,  metal- 
lurgical, military  and  naval  engineering ;  also  engineering 
education  and  aerial  navigation.  The  congress  on  water 
commerce,  largely  dependent  on  engineering  problems,  was 
held  in  this  connection.  These  congresses  were  largely  at- 
tended, and  it  has  often  been  remarked  that  they  alone 
would  have  been  ample  return  for  all  the  expenses  involved 
in  the  organization  and  work  of  the  World's  Congress  Aux- 
iliary. 

The  congresses  of  the  Department  of  Art  embraced 
architecture,  painting  and  sculpture,  decorative  art,  ceramics, 
and  photography.  All  these  were  of  a  high  character, 
though  not  very  largely  attended. 

The  Department  of  Government  occupied  the  week  com- 
mencing August  yth,  and  embraced  the  general  divisions  of 
jurisprudence  and  law  reform,  civil  service  reform,  city  gov- 
ernment reform,  suffrage,  arbitration  and  peace,  and  patents 
and  trade-marks.  The  latter  was  not  held  until  October  2d. 
The  attendance  of  the  suffrage  congress  was  large  ;  the 
other  congresses  of  this  department  were  fairly  well  at- 
tended. 

The  week  commencing  August  i4th  was  devoted  to  what 
was  called  the  General  Department,  in  which  congresses  not 
otherwise  assigned,  or  which  could  not  be  holden  in  their 
proper  places,  were  held.  This  department  included  a  very 
remarkable  congress  on  Africa,  the  horticultural  congress, 
the  congresses  on  dentistry  and  medical  jurisprudence  from 
the  Department  of  Medicine  ;  also  continuations  of  the  con- 
gress on  peace,  and  the  trade  press  congress. 

The  Department  of  Science  and  Philosophy  occupied  the 
week  commencing  August  2ist,  and  embraced  the  general 
divisions  of  anthropology,  astronomy  and  mathematics, 
chemistry,  geology,  meteorology,  electricity,  philosophy, 
psychical  science,  zoology,  ornithology,  and  evolution.  The 


332  APPENDIX  "A." 

pharmaceutical  congress,  transferred  from  Medicine,  was 
held  in  this  department.  The  congress  on  zoology  was 
deferred  to  the  following  week,  and  the  ornithological  con- 
gress was  held  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Most  of 
these  congresses  were  of  a  very  high  order  and  were  well 
attended.  The  electrical  congress  drew  a  very  large  and 
distinguished  attendance,  and  elicited  the  highest  praise. 
Psychical  science  drew  the  largest  audiences.  The  scientific 
programs  generally  were  comprehensive  and  complete. 
Those  on  chemistry  and  meteorology  were  especially  so. 

The  Department  of  Social  and  Economic  Science  and 
the  Department  of  Labor  were  assigned  to  the  week  com- 
mencing August  28th.  The  former  embraced,  in  addition  to 
the  general  congress,  the  general  divisions  of  profit-sharing, 
the  single  tax,  and  coinage,  weights,  measures,  and  postage. 

The  labor  congress  had  no  general  divisions,  but  embraced 
in  its  program  nearly  all  the  aspects  of  what  is  known  as 
"  the  labor  question."  Distinguished  representatives  of 
industry,  science,  and  the  church  participated  in  the  con- 
gress, and  though  it  was  held  during  a  week  of  violent  dis- 
turbance in  the  industrial  world,  the  sessions  of  the  congress 
were  characterized  by  great  dignity  and  harmony,  and  it 
has  often  been  said  that  no  ill-tempered  address  was  made 
during  the  whole  week  devoted  to  the  congress. 

The  Department  of  Religion  was  the  culminating  achieve- 
ment of  the  world's  congress  scheme,  and  the  world's  first 
Parliament  of  Religion  was  the  crowning  event  of  these 
congresses.  This  department  included  forty-five  general 
divisions.  Most  of  the  participating  organizations  held 
denominational  congresses  of  their  own.  The  Catholic  con- 
gress was  very  largely  attended.  The  Jewish  congress 
attracted  special  attention.  The  chief  interest  of  the 
religious  congresses  centered  in  the  Parliament  of  Religions 
as  organized  with  extraordinary  ability  by  Dr.  John  Henry 
Barrows.  It  commenced  its  sessions  on  September  nth,  and 
continued  the  same  for  seventeen  successive  days.  All  the 
great  religions  of  the  world  were  represented  in  this  con- 
gress. Its  proceedings  have  excited  a  world-wide  interest, 
and  the  "echoes  of  the  parliament"  still  continue  to  come 
from  all  parts  of  the  earth.  The  religious  congresses  com- 


WORLD'S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY.  333 

menced  with  the  Jewish  congress  on  August  27th,  and  ended 
with  the  congress  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  on  October 
i5th. 

The  Sunday-rest  congress,  standing  in  a  separate  depart- 
ment, was  commenced  September  28th,  and  included  the 
physiological,  economic,  religious,  and  other  relations  of  the 
weekly  rest  day. 

The  public  health  congress,  transferred  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  Medicine  to  a  separate  department,  was  held  during 
the  week  of  October  loth,  and  embraced  all  the  aspects  of 
this  important  subject,  ably  presented  by  eminent  repre- 
sentatives. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  closed  the  series.  The 
congresses  of  this  department  embraced  the  general  divisions 
of  farm  culture,  farmers'  organizations,  and  agricultural 
legislation,  fish  and  fisheries,  forestry,  veterinary  surgery, 
good  roads,  household  economics,  agricultural  education  and 
experiment,  farm  life  and  mental  culture,  and  real  estate. 
The  congress  on  ornithology  was,  as  above  stated,  held  in 
this  connection;  and  the  World's  Women's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union  was,  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  transferred  to 
this  period  from  the  Department  of  Temperance  assigned 
to  the  first  week  in  June. 

The  closing  general  session  of  the  world's  congresses  of 
1893  was  held  on  October  28th.  At  this  session  Secretary 
Clarence  E.  Young  reported  that  the  records  of  the  Auxiliary 
showed  more  than  210  working  committees  of  organization, 
embracing  a  local  membership  of  about  1,600,  besides  a  non- 
resident membership  in  the  advisory  councils  of  the  different 
congresses,  amounting-  to  about  15,000  persons.  Also  that  in 
the  preparation  of  these  congresses  more  than  1,000,000 
circular  publications  had  been  sent  out.  This  report  also 
showed  that  1,245  sessions  had  been  held,  with  5,974  writers 
and  speakers,  and  a  total  attendance  of  over  700,000  persons. 
It  was  estimated  that  it  would  require  fifty  octavo  volumes 
of  600  pages  each  to  contain  the  papers,  addresses,  and  pro- 
ceedings. 

The  World's  Congress  Auxiliary  embraced  a  central 
organization  authorized  by  the  directory  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  and  recognized  by  the  Government 


334 


APPENDIX  "A." 


of  the  United  States  as  the  proper  agency  to  conduct  a  series 
of  world's  congresses  in  connection  with  the  Exposition;  a 
comparatively  small  local  Committee  of  Organization  and 
Arrangements;  an  Advisory  Council,  so-called,  comprising 
the  non-resident  members  of  the  congress,  and  consisting  of 
persons  eminent  in  the  work  involved,  selected  from  all  parts 
of  the  world,  and  cooperating  with  the  local  committee  by 
correspondence,  and,  wherever  practicable,  in  person.  Also 
general  honorary  and  corresponding  members  invited  to 
give  their  advice  and  cooperation  to  the  whole  series  of 
congresses;  also  committees  of  cooperation  appointed  by 
particular  organizations,  and  recognized  by  the  Auxiliary  as 
representatives  of  societies  and  institutions.  Mixed  com- 
mittees of  men  and  women  were  not  appointed,  but  on  all 
subjects  suitable  for  the  cooperation  of  women  in  the  con- 
gresses, committees  of  women  were  appointed,  and  these 
constituted,  in  the  aggregate,  the  Woman's  Branch  of  the 
World's  Congress  Auxiliary.  Of  this  branch  Mrs.  Potter 
Palmer  was  president,  and  Mrs.  Charles  Henrotin,  vice- 
president.  The  other  members  of  the  original  committee  of 
women  were  Mrs.  Henry  M.  Wilmarth,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Flower, 
Miss  Francis  E.  Willard,  Mrs.  J.  Young  Scammon,  Mrs.  Myra 
Bradwell,  Mrs.  John  C.  Coonley,  Mrs.  R.  Hall  McCormick, 
Mrs.  O.  W.  Potter,  Mrs.  A.  H.  Chetlain,  Mrs,  Wirt  Dexter, 
Dr.  Sarah  Hackett  Stevenson,  Miss  Nina  Gray  Lunt,  Mrs. 
Leander  Stone,  and  Miss  N.  Halstead. 

The  Committee  of  Organization,  the  advisory  councils, 
the  honorary  members,  and  the  Committee  of  Cooperation 
were  so  numerous  that  they  can  not  be  named  in  this  report 
without  extending  it  to  undue  length.  The  honorary  mem- 
bership embraced  many  distinguished  names,  including  those 
of  his  majesty  King  Oscar  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  Lord 
Chief  Justice  Coleridge  of  England,  Lord  Tennyson,  Cardinal 
Manning,  Prof.  Max  Muller  of  Oxford,  Dr.  George  Ebers  of 
Germany,  Professor  de  Laveleye  of  Belgium,  the  presidents 
of  leading  colleges  and  universities,  the  foreign  ministers  of 
the  United  States,  and  many  scientists  and  other  persons  of 
high  distinction. 

The  world's  congresses  of  1893  were  held  in  the  perma- 
nent memorial  Art  Palace  erected  on  the  shore  of  Lake 


WORLD'S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY.  335 

Michigan,  near  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  through  the 
cooperation  of  the  directory  of  the  World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position and  the  directors  of  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago. 
The  city  of  Chicago  contributed  the  site,  the  Art  Institute 
furnished  about  $400,000  and  the  directory  of  the  Exposition 
supplied  the  sum  of  $200,000,  upon  the  condition  that  the 
building  should  be  completed  and  furnished  for  the  uses  of 
the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary  during  the  Exposition  sea- 
son, from  May  to  October.  This  building  is  319  feet  in  front 
on  Michigan  Avenue,  at  the  intersection  of  Adams  Street, 
and  has  two  wings  extending  eastward  toward  Lake  Michi- 
gan 176  feet.  It  contains  thirty- three  halls,  which  were  cal- 
culated to  accommodate  from  100  to  700  persons  each  ;  and 
between  the  two  wings  were  erected  two  large  audience 
rooms  with  seats  for  nearly  3,000  persons,  and  standing  room 
for  perhaps  a  thousand  persons  more  in  each  of  these  halls. 
The  north  one  was  named  the  Hall  of  Columbus,  the  south 
one  the  Hall  of  Washington.  It  was  estimated  that  the 
entire  building  would  hold  more  than  12,000  persons,  and  on 
many  occasions,  especially  during  the  women's  congress,  the 
educational  congress,  and  particularly  the  religious  con- 
gresses, the  building  was  found  inadequate  to  the  demands 
of  the  occasion.  The  building  was  not  finished  until  about 
the  ist  of  July,  but  was  taken  by  the  Auxiliary  before  the 
ist  of  May  and  occupied  by  the  congresses  which  com- 
menced on  the  1 5th  of  that  month.  No  accident  or  disturb- 
ance worth  mentioning  occurred  during  the  entire  world's 
congress  season. 

Besides  the  $200,000  above  mentioned,  the  Exposition 
directory  also  expended  in  the  support  of  the  world's  con- 
gress work  about  $75,000,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  various 
committees  of  organization  also  raised  and  expended  about 
$25,000  more,  making  the  total  expenditures  for  the  con- 
gresses about  $300,000. 

On  the  first  day  of  November,  1893,  the  memorial  Art 
Palace  was  surrendered  to  the  directors  of  the  Art  Institute 
of  Chicago,  to  be  permanently  occupied  by  that  institution, 
under  an  arrangement  made  with  the  city  of  Chicago  for 
the  use  of  the  public  ground  on  which  the  same  is  located. 
This  building  now  constitutes  one  of  the  finest  temples  of 


336  APPENDIX  "A." 

art  in  the  world,  and  stands  as  an  enduring  monument  com- 
memorating the  wonderful  event  of  the  World's  Parliament 
of  Religions,  and  the  extraordinary  successes  of  the  other 
world's  congresses  of  1893. 

From  thousands  of  expressions  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  perhaps  none  better  can  be  selected  to  close  this  brief 
summary  than  that  of  Prof.  Max  Muller,  the  distinguished 
Oxford  professor,  in  the  December,  1894,  Arena.  Writing 
of  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  he  says: 

The  World's  Congress  Auxiliary  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  proved 
the  most  important  part  and  the  greatest  success  of  that  immense 
undertaking,  taking  its  place  as  one  of  the  most  memorable  events  in 
the  history  of  the  world  ;  and  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  unique  and 
unprecedented,  will  be  remembered  and  bear  fruit  when  everything  else 
of  the  mighty  Exposition  shall  long  have  been  swept  from  the  memory 
of  man. 


APPENDIX  "B." 


WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN   EXPOSITION. 


STATEMENT   OF    FORCE    EMPLOYED    BY  WORLD'S    COLUMBIAN 

EXPOSITION. 
SEPTEMBER,  1892,  TO  OCTOBER,  1893,  INCLUSIVE. 


18 

92 

L893 

! 

ti 

o 

1 

o 
& 

c 

oJ 

•—  > 

1 

| 

I 

>. 

o 

e 

3 
•—  > 

j>, 

"3 

i—  > 

£ 

< 

*l 

— 

£ 

1 

Treasurer                         ...... 

31 

39, 

28 

30 

36 

95 

24 

26 

25 

29 

36 

27 

28 

24 

Secretary 

9 

10 

10 

11 

11 

19 

14 

9 

8 

9 

9 

9 

9 

g 

Legal            

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

4 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

Auditor                  .      

18 

17 

38 

39 

37 

40 

39 

43 

54 

40 

38 

43 

41 

38 

World's  Congress  Auxiliary. 

5 

98 

7 
30 

8 
4 

8 
3 

8 
3 

8 
9 

8 
9 

10 
3 

11 
2 

53 
2 

43 
2 

7 
3 

40 
3 

39 
3 

Traffic                   

| 

8 

6 

Admissions                       ...  

5 

13 

8 

40 

349 

597 

654 

574 

533 

584 

Collections 

4 

15 

29 

169 

247 

199 

164 

188 

175 

Council  of  Administration... 
Ways  and  Means                .... 

6 
4 

5 
4 

8 
5 

8 

7 
8 

7 
8 

7 
8 

8 

7 

9 

7 

9 

9 
8 

11 
9 

11 
9 

10 
8 

11 

11 

11 

11 

1ft 

10 

9 

9 

4 

2 

2 

Public  Comfort           .....  

4 

5 

6 

5 

9 

11 

13 

12 

29 

33 

42 

42 

41 

39 

'Woman's 

8 

4 

7 

13 

46 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Director-general's  office  ...... 

6 

5 

9 

8 

6 

9 

14 

29 

28 

17 

23 

10 

g 

9 

Agriculture 

6 

6 

9 

19, 

19! 

15 

15 

18 

27 

47 

42 

45 

40 

25 

Electricity 

4 

4 

5 

6 

8 

9 

9 

13 

13 

12 

10 

10 

10 

10 

Ethnology                   -.  .- 

11 

9 

4 

14 

18 

30 

36 

31 

55 

72 

60 

93 

58 

54 

Fine  Arts 

f> 

ft 

7 

7 

8 

9 

16 

31 

31 

24 

23 

20 

20 

21 

Fish  and  Fisheries 

3 

1 

9 

4 

4 

7 

8 

8 

10 

12 

11 

10 

9 

8 

Foreign  Affairs 

13 

19, 

16 

10 

19, 

13 

13 

14 

9 

12 

13 

10 

10 

9 

9 

9 

9, 

9 

9 

9 

9 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

5 

6 

9 

6 

9 

8 

9 

17 

14 

12 

11 

11 

10 

Liberal  Arts                    

8 

9 

19 

10 

11 

15 

19 

23 

49 

31 

31 

29 

27 

26 

Live  Stock 

9, 

9 

9 

9 

9 

9 

3 

4 

5 

5 

6 

9 

32 

30 

Machinery        .  ....  .  . 

5 

5 

6 

8 

9 

12 

15 

25 

27 

22 

25 

21 

19 

18 

Manufactures              .  .  .  

6 

7 

9 

19 

99 

98 

43 

33 

24 

18 

25 

41 

19 

Mines  and  Mining 

7 

10 

19, 

10 

19 

17 

93 

32 

26 

15 

14 

13 

13 

13 

New  York  agency 

9! 

9 

Publicity  and  Promotion  
Transportation  Exhibits  
Medical  and  surgical 

27 
6 
7 

28 
7 
7 

27 
7 
7 

22 
10 
7 

19 

11 
7 

32 

16 

8 

43 
19 
6 

45 
25 
21 

50 
22 

36 
25 

28 
23 

17 
20 

12 
16 

12 
17 

Bookkeepers                  .  .. 

8 

9 

*14 

Building  superintendents 

11 

13 

18 

15 

11 

19 

15 

18 

*i1 

194 

I09 

114 

158 

997 

363 

Chemists                         ...  

1 

1 

Clerks  and  messengers 

*>*> 

49 

38 

31 

98 

99 

99 

32 

18 

Coloring  and  decorating  

49 

65 

81 
68 

30 
67 

10 

58 

207 
42 

232 
40 

208 
37 

236 
36 

390 
50 

254 
37 

94 
15 

2 

7 

22 

5 

22 
5 

993 

*>3 

909 

934 

931 

980 

379 

749 

532 

268 

155 

47 

18 

17 

16 

14 

13 

13 

14 

15 

13 

9 

79 

86 

74 

56 

34 

59 

59 

53 

40 

39 

49 

49 

38 

63 

59 

66 

41 

Grading  and  surveying  

124 

90 

76 

64 
10 

50 
15 

52 
13 

58 
22 

361 
61 

272 
79 

137 

28 

41 
1 

12 
9 

11 
10 

11 
12 

51 

143 

109 

567 

1,303 

434 

154 

69 

43 

40 

Landscape  gardening  

437 

494 

373 

204 

86 

57 

158 

187 

290 

254 

56 

72 

73 

59 

Accounting  office,  constniction  department,  subsequently  merged  in  auditor's  office. 
22  (337) 


338  APPENDIX  ".£." 

STATEMENT  OF  FORCE  EMPLOYED.— Continued. 


1892 

1893 

i 

cc 

§ 

1 

1 

d 

9 

40 
42 
8 
13 
393 
110 
173 

1 

,a 
o 

I 
< 

>> 

1 

o 
d 
p 

H-  > 

>> 

"3 
i—  > 

b£ 
p 

<! 

+5 

o» 

1 

.i-j 
<3 

Mechanical  engineering  
Operating  railway 

140 
27 
2 
7 
293 
215 
184 

182 
43 
2 
30 
322 
325 
239 

306 
57 
4 
7 
370 
325 
163 

275 
52 

6 
1 
366 
260 
173 

175 
49 
13 
5 
465 
101 
210 

461 
62 
21 
34 
588 
172 
153 
16 
25 
214 
210 

1,018 
96 
17 
47 
760 
237 
408 
24 
29 
417 
439 

1,250 

908 

200 

34 

Photograph  expenses 

Piers  and  bridges      

7 

31 

ii 

2 

4 

5 

Police  protection    _    .      ..... 

Railway  tracks  

220 
405 

"162 

47 
105 

Sculpture  modeling 

45 

28 

31 

Secret  service            .      ..... 

Stable  expenses  

26 
320 
225 
4 

24 
219 

278 

25 

236 
253 

1 

24 

562 
229 
1 

23 
391 
197 

25 

227 
210 

Temporary  buildings  

494 
372 

Water  and'  sewerage           ... 

193 

68 

.... 

22 

5 

Water  supply 

2 
168 

9 

153 

9 
375 

37 

438 

Miscellaneous 

5 

130 

253 

162 

876 
4 
1 
15 

831 
4 

1 
18 

672 
3 
1 
13 

768 
3 
1 
41 

527 
3 
1 
32 

423 
3 

"20 

Chiefs  and  assistants  

Chemists                            

Clerks  and  messengers..  

Electric  lights  and  appli'ces. 
Exposition  Symphony  Orch. 

54 
47 
58 
45 
624 
41 
105 

98 
69 
63 
100 
850 
61 
175 

139 
71 
54 
62 
558 
64 
190 
38 
468 
72 
76 
69 
95 
1,945 

79 
100 
36 

46 
110 
37 

Fire  protection 

58 
33 

Floriculture  gardening 

Guides 

Janitor  service 

495 
70 
256 
38 
439 
47 
52 
138 
108 
1,748 

473 
63 
273 
37 

480 
51 
31 

116 
86 

1,785 

455 
63 
258 
48 
479 
40 
31 
114 
77 
1,700 

Med.  and  surg.  attendance 

Operating  electric  plant 

Launches 

Power  plant     ..  ... 

377 
83 
80 
90 
45 
1,522 

286 
88 
83 
110 
72 
1,695 

Railway 

Terminal  Station    . 

Water  and  sewerage 
Photograph  expenses 

Police  protection 

Public  Comfort  expenses 

Secret  service        * 

161 
200 
40 
24 

178 

277 
86 
47 
36 
229 

284 
128 
32 
52 
78 

254 
78 
36 
16 
40 

225 
80 
43 
23 
37 

196 
44 
32 
23 
33 

Services  of  bands           . 

Stable  expenses 

Supt.  grounds  and  buildings  . 
Warehouse  expenses  

Average  per  month  pre-Exposition  period,  3,753%. 
months,  5,457#.    Grand  total,  76,406. 


Exposition  period,  7,729%.    For  fourteen 


APPENDIX   "C." 

WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 
REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR  TO  THE  PRESIDENT,  JUNE  30,  1895. 

THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 
AUDITOR'S  OFFICE,  CHICAGO,  July  i,  1895. 

H.  N.  HIGINBOTHAM,  President. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  beg  to  present  herewith  my  report  giving 
classified  statements  of  receipts,  disbursements,  assets,  and 
liabilities  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  as  of  date 

June  30,  1895. 

RECEIPTS. 
CAPITAL  STOCK: 

2  per  cent  on   26,010  shares $        5,20200 

20        "          "       9,221      "      18,44200 

40        "•         "       3,467      " 13,86800 

60        "          "       7,638      "      45,82800 

80        "          ••       1,249      ••      9,99200 

100        "          "  552,187      "      5,521,87000 

Installments  in  suspense 1 ,952  33 

$5,617,154  33 

CITY  OF  CHICAGO— Proceeds  of  appropriation  5,000,000  00 

SOUVENIR  COINS 1,929,12000 

PREMIUM  ON  SOUVENIR  COINS 517,560  43 

GATE  RECEIPTS: 

Pre-Exposition  period 282,641  97 

Exposition  period ,  May $     583 ,031  25 

June 1,256,18000 

July 1,325,37675 

Aug 1,694,51800 

Sept 2,263,03825 

Oct 3,213,92150 

10,336,065  75 

10,618,707  72 

CONCESSION  RECEIPTS: 

Pre-Ex^osition  period 171 ,181  54 

Exposition  period,  May 74,696  15 

•'       June 334,12867 

"       July 598,54056 

Aug 578,52013 

Sept. 843,24031 

Oct 1,294,14974 

3,723,27556 

3,894,45710 


Carried  forward $27,576,99958 

(339) 


340 


APPENDIX  "C." 


Brought  forward $27,576,99958 

INTEREST— Interest  on  deposits.  68,090  50 

POWER  AND  LIGHT  RECEIPTS: 

Fuel  oil  furnished $  10,247  60 

Electric  lighting 235,699  58 

Electric  power  furnished 36,729  11 

Steam  power 19,740  87 

Compressed  air  service _  6,591  51 

Machine  shop  receipts 8,639  78 

$317,648  45 

WATER  AND  SEWERAGE  RECEIPTS: 

Water  service 13,760  69 

Plumbing  receipts 15,326  90 

29,087  59 

TRANSPORTATION  RECEIPTS: 

Switching 40,514  10 

Terminal  receipts _  72,300  50 

Transporting  supplies 7,827  58 

Passenger  earnings 255  95 

Pilot  service  receipts 10,521  71 

Installing  exhibits  receipts.  .  .  17,880  89 

Removing  garbage  receipts..  14,487  99 

Warehouse  handling _  696  59 

Storage  on  exhibits 7,031  48 

Storage   on    empty   packing 

cases 45,73215 

Storage  on  construction  ma- 
terial    93 12 

217,342  06 

AGRICULTURAL  DEPARTMENT  RE- 
CEIPTS: 

Entrance  fees  for  poultry 1 ,051  25 

Dairy  receipts 6,990  18 

Forage  receipts 14,336  54 

22,377  97 

MISCELLANEOUS  RECEIPTS: 

Architectural  service 2,279  99 

First  aid  for  accidents 2,116  08 

Materials  sold 6,45093 

Police  service  receipts 13,936  68 

Forfeits  on  contracts 300  00 

Official  guides 4,71501 

Rents.. 647  50 

Gas  connections _  675  00 

Photographic  receipts,  net.__  90,577  64 

Rooming  receipts _  _ .  1 ,966  31 

Employes'  passes  and  badges  93,499  38 

Advertising  privileges _  1 , 000  00 

Traveling  crane  receipts 10,219  90 

World's  Congress  auxiliary..  2,130  37 

Receipts  in  suspense..,  1500 

230,529  79 

816,985  86 

Carried  forward , $28,462,075  94 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR. 
RECEIPTS,  POST-EXPOSITION  PERIOD. 


341 


Brought  forward $28,462,07594 

GATE  RECEIPTS... $31,66650 

INTEREST  ON  DEPOSITS 8,242  12 

TRANSPORTATION  RECEIPTS: 

Switching $  4,73595 

Terminal  receipts 28,017  78 

32,753  73 

POWER  AND  LIGHT  RECEIPTS: 

Electric  lighting 27  30 

Machine  shop  receipts 76  77 

10407 

SALVAGE  RECEIPTS: 

Buildings  sold  ( miscellaneous 

small  buildings) 4,00900 

Decorations  sold 5,46296 

Electrical  material  sold 20,381  76 

Engineering  implements  and 

tools  sold 1,87700 

Floating  property  sold _  4,325  00 

Fire  apparatus  sold 10,762  76 

Horses,  wagons,  and  harness 

sold 10,219  75 

Lost  and  found  articles 697  72 

Miscellaneous  material  sold..  17,02988 

Mechanical  material  sold 37,34406 

Plants  sold 4515 

Railroad  material  sold 38,631  99 

Souvenirs  sold 11,04451 

Uniforms  sold 5,07165 

Water  and  sewerage  materials 

sold 44,29649 

Waterfowl  sold 36817 

Furniture  and  fixtures  sold..  27,243  03 

238,810  88 

WATER  AND  SEWERAGE  RECEIPTS: 

Plumbing  receipts 17  20 

MISCELLANEOUS  RECEIPTS: 

First  aid  for  accidents 400 

Police  service  receipts 1,21850                  „ 

Interest  and  exchange 41  68 

1,264 18 

312,858  68 

28,774,934  62 
LIABILITIES: 

Accounts  payable 3,654  52 

Unclaimed  wages 8,943  66 

. 12,598  18 

Total  receipts $28,787,532  80 


242  APPENDIX  "  C." 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

GENERAL   AND   OPERATING   EX- 
PENSES: 

Accident  insurance $  41 ,618  81 

Archaeological  and  ethnolog- 
ical examinations 130, 341 18 

Advertising 89,49774 

Attendants  and  laborers 154, 218  17 

Badges    5,96489 

Carriage  hire 1,71642 

Chemists 2,45000 

Commissions 157,705  53 

Concession  expenses -  90, 921  66 

Dairy  expenses 20,082  10 

Dedication  ceremonies 211 ,182  06 

Department  superintendents.  44,681  43 

Department  inspectors 2,042  50 

Donations  and  charities 24,97150 

Entertaining  guests ......  9,997  82 

Exhibits  purchased 32,868  83 

Exposition  symphony  orches- 
tra  135,671 10 

Experts 13,96696 

Freight  and  express 3,589  11 

Freight  pilot  service 8,147  46 

Fire  protection 256,444  29 

Floricultural  gardening 61 ,667  47 

Foreign  agents  119,28441 

Foreign  agitation 38,123  17 

Freight  on  exhibits 14,73946 

Forage  for  live  stock 12,896  82 

Furniture  and  fixtures 67 ,034  19 

Gas          5,96248 

Guides 6,54350 

Gate  expenses 341,73425 

Heating  offices  and  buildings  66,521  44 

Hire  of  launches  and  gondolas  495  00 

Horticultural  gardening 2,133  89 

Ice 4,771  25 

Interpreters  55000 

Inaugural  ceremonies 8,883  12 

Incidental  expenses _  2,957  53 

Interest  and  exchange 11 ,829  70 

Interest  on  debenture  bonds, 

net 200,98077 

Insurance 122,05726 

Insurance  on  exhibits 6 , 598  91 

Installing  exhibits 313,451  53 

Janitor  service 211,008  56 

Laundry  work 3,82697 

Legal  expenses 86,707  70 

London  agency 13,096  21 

Medical  and  surgical  attend- 
ance   45,331  34 

National  agitation 65,116  63 

Carried  forward $  3,272,383  12 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR.  343 


Brought  forward $  3,272,383  12 

Newspapers 9,27439 

New  York  agency 15,281  35 

Operating  water  and  sewer- 
age  -  51,43776 

Operating  laboratory 608  1 1 

Operating  electric  plant 144,425  61 

Operating  launches 39,605  89 

Operating  refrigerating  plant  389  95 

Operating  traveling  cranes  .  _  522  10 

Organ  and  organ  recitals 12,079  50 

Operating  water  supply .  15,891  67 

Operating  fountains 1 ,148  56 

Operating    sewerage    cleans- 
ing works .-  16,21214 

Operating  Terminal  Station  .  21,602  58 

Operating  power  plant 416,236  24 

Operating  railway 112,294  35 

Official  catalogue 11,321  29 

Postage 61,49071 

Photographical    labor  and 

material -  6,52887 

Pyrotechnical  displays 103,141  13 

Premiums  on  live  stock 117,332  20 

Premiums  on  employes' bonds  97929 

Publications 21,60140 

Police  protection 1 ,046,352  25 

Personal  injuries 17,915  29 

Public  Comfort  expenses 29,928  55 

Removing  debris _  68,47215 

Removing  garbage 13,274  30 

Removing  ice  and  snow.. 16,10449 

Rent  of  offices 62,84301 

Rent  of  grounds 47,068  98 

Repairing  bridges _  1,188  29 

Repairing  statuary . .  .  1 ,076  80 

Repairing   piers  and   break- 
waters   4,76972 

Repairing  interior  docking ...  6 , 903  57 

Repairing  fences 2,936  55 

Repairing  buildings 71 ,295  86 

Repairing  viaducts 1 ,978  93 

Repairs     and     fittings     for 

offices  and  buildings _  3,400  77 

Salaries  of  clerks 406,154  52 

Salaries  of  officers 341 ,740  49 

Secret  service _  119,53701 

Sheet  music  and  musical  in- 
struments   10,28740 

Shoe  and  leather  exhibit 18,891  64 

Souvenir  coin  expenses 129,150  54 

Services  of  bands    172,896  25 

Superintending  grounds  and 

buildings 33,50479 

Stationery  and  printing 90,28380 

Subsistence  allowance 17,169  78 


Carried  forward.... $  7,186,913  94 


344 


APPENDIX  "  C." 


Brought  forward $  7,186,913  94 

Supplies  for  offices  and  build- 
ings    10,615 17 

Stable  expenses. 61 ,746  67 

Special  legislation 7,323  58 

Special  attractions 24,493  96 

Teaming. 2,22241 

Telegrams  and  cablegrams..  11,050  71 

Telephones 25,62883 

Typewriter  repairs  and  sup- 
plies   1,56433 

Traveling  expenses. 28,547  46 

Transportation   concession- 
aires' supplies _ 7,565  53 

Uniforms 75,96892 

Warehouse  expenses 43,713  41 

Waterfowl 2,65648 

17,490,011  40 

Preliminary  organization  ex- 
penses   90,67497 

DIVIDENDS: 

City  of  Chicago  appropriation  500,000  00 

Capital  stock  (10  per  cent)  . . .  548,985  00 

CONSTRUCTION  EXPENDITURES  : 

Accounting  Building 36,199  61 

Anthropological  Building 87,612  02 

Administration  Building 476 , 627  14 

Agricultural  Building 699,316  75 

Art  Building 758,781  98 

Art  Institute 200,000  00 

Architects'  fees 39,298  57 

Board  of  Architects 137,351  40 

Building  implements  and 

tools 7,18460 

Bicycle  Court 3,55000 

Boiler  house 47,01699 

Boiler  plant 192,67493 

Bandstands 10,67131 

Bridges 83,34090 

Bonded  warehouses 14,197  98 

Claims  and  damages 445,100  71 

Colonnade  and  obelisk 101 ,495  36 

Clock  tower 14,60200 

Composing    and    stereotype 

building 2,114  66 

Combination  booths 10,448  50 

Children's  Pavilion 130  00 

Choral  Building 89 ,581  21 

Coloring  and  decorating 382,898  61 

Carpenter  shop 12,487  39 

Dairy  Building 27,054  80 

Damages  to  property 8,333  04 

Draughtsmen's  wages 179,70762 

Draughtsmen's  materials 15 ,966  74 

Dredging,  filling,  and   exca- 
vating    615,254  36 

Carried  forward.. ..$  4,698,999  18  $8,629,671  37 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR. 

Brought  forward $  4,698,999  18  $8,629,671  37 

Dairy  barns 57,52904 

Decorations 121,16246 

Electric  lights  and  appliances  81,774  08 

Electrical  engineering 71 ,758  00 

Electricity  Building  _  _ 447,761  84 

Electric  plant 1,242,44520 

Elevation  of  Illinois  Central 

tracks 250,15000 

Engineering  expenses 61 ,094  48 

Engineering  implements  and 

tools 5,86422 

Fencing    (including    ticket 

booths  and  turnstiles) 92,934  07 

Fire  plant 2,96894 

Fire  and  police  houses 78,702  42 

Fisheries  Building 235,008  29 

Filters 10,00000 

Floating  property 92,700  38 

Fountains 140,08076 

Forestry  Building 83,289  59 

Freight  sheds 20,053  38 

Furniture  for  buildings 121 ,268  85 

Garbage  crematory  building.  3,182  23 

Garden  implements  and  tools  4,680  43 

Grand  court  pavilion 12,375  00 

Grounds  and  buildings  office.  102,092  21 

Grading  and  surveying 148,900  15 

Hauling  material 33,172  XX) 

Horses,  wagons,  harness,  etc.  38,405  82 
Horticultural  implements  and 

tools 813  97 

Horticultural  Building 319, 766  46 

Interior  docking 279,525  28 

Intramural  water  transporta- 
tion   75149 

Kitchen  and  storeroom 30,000  00 

Live-stock  exhibit  building  ..  67,475  97 

Live-stock  sheds 85,445  77 

Lake  front  improvement 11,949  68 

Landscape  office  and  tool 

house 46416 

Landscape  gardening 493,312  43 

Landscape  architecture 23,064  27 

Machinery  Building 1 ,235,982  89 

Manufactures  Building 1,812,691  64 

Maps  and  plans 31,03523 

Marine  Cafe 15,000  00 

Miscellaneous  buildings 13, 545  90 

Mechanical  engineering. 50,394  49 

Mechanical   implements    and 

tools 13,30732 

Music  Hall,  Casino,  and  Peri- 
style (net) 318,012  88 

Mines  and  Mining  Building..  292,94747 

Oil  storehouse 59808 


345 


Carried  forward.... $13,354,438  40  $8,629,671  37 


346  APPENDIX  »  C." 

Brought  forward.... $13,354,438  40  $8,629,671  37 
Office  building  for  Mechanical 

and  Electrical  departments         10,756  76 

Oilplant - 33,94205 

Paint  shop 5,343  28 

Piers  and  breakwaters 308,019  90 

Public  Comfort  Building 27 , 345  75 

Police  signal  boxes . . 11 ,181  01 

Perron  and  train  sheds 55,153  04 

Power  plant 665,79943 

Propagating  houses - ...         20,095  29 

Permanent  power,  operation 

during  construction 36,496  63 

Pumping  station 53,029  94 

Reproduction  of  the  Convent 

LaRabida ...         25,22556 

Runways  and  cranes,  Machin- 
ery fialL... 97,51008 

Railway  tracks 409,501  34 

Railway  Terminal  Station. .  _       236 ,985  71 

Real  estate 26  20 

Right  of  way. 51,59200 

Rockery.  Horticultural  Build- 
ing   '       24046 

Roadways  and  sidewalks ....        396 , 353  24 

Silo  Building 3,953  00 

Sculpture  modeling 384,6^8  75 

Seats  for  grounds 14,868  07 

Sewerage  cleansing  works...         57.674  58 

Statues. 230,69548 

Service  stables 7,22002 

Storage  Building 10,848  46 

Superintending  construction.       188,548  28 
Surveying      and     examining 

sites..! 2,26202 

Storage    houses    for    empty 

packing  cases 61,97820 

Saw  mill 21,79400 

Shoe  and  Leather  Building.  _         93,243  76 
Ticket  booths  and  turnstiles 

(lagoons).. 26,50349 

Temporary  buildings 58,933  46 

Construction    of- 
fice..        $10,09634 

Stable 3,09153 

Hospital 1,19744 

Fire  engine  houses   5 , 1 04  04 

Tool  houses 91727 

Police  barracks...    6,16873 

Power  house 9,278  92 

Staff  houses 7,24505 

Watch  houses  ....    1 ,099  91 

Privies 6,13719 

Miscellaneous 8,597  04 

Temporary     sidewalks     and 

roadways 17,567  52 

Carried  forward.... $16, 979, 755  16  $8,629,671  37 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR. 

Brought  forward.... $16,979,755  16  $  8,620,671  37 

Transportation  Building 555 ,037  31 

Toilet  buildings 8,208  83 

Turkish  Mosque 2,758  93 

Van  Buren  Street  pier 6,426  52 

Van  Buren  Street  viaduct 18,136  00 

Viaducts,  Midway  Plaisance  _  19,522  70 

Water  and  sewerage 944,492  20 

Water  supply 5,32606 

Woman's  Building 138,803  90 

18,678,46761 

POST-EXPOSITION  EXPENDITURES: 

Advertising 235  15 

Archaeological  and  ethnolog- 
ical examinations 3,713  48 

Attendants  and  laborers 6,462  89 

Board  of  South  Park  Commis- 
sioners (final  settlement). . .  200,000  00 

Carriage  hire 700 

Claims  and  damages 491  61 

Concession  expenses .  6, 107  92 

Damages  to  property  ._ 1 ,072  16 

Department  superintendents.  4,735  77 

Department  inspectors _  225  00 

Draughtsmen's  wages 1 ,426  31 

Draughtsmen's  material 56  12 

Experts 76250 

Final  reports 56,94487 

Fire  protection 12,045  93 

Floricultural  gardening 2,345  42 

Freight  and  express 81  05 

Freight  on  exhibits  returned.  4,893  76 

Furniture  and  fixtures 123  47 

Gas 99790 

Gate  expenses 7,92353 

Grading  and  surveying 94412 

Heating  oflfices  and  buildings  19,566  89 

Ice 319  69 

Insurance  on  exhibits  returned  160  58 

Incidental  expenses _  62  53 

Janitor  service 38,954  56 

Landscape  gardening ._  2,02674 

Laundry  work 25672 

Legal  expenses. _  1,52764 

Maps  and  plans 17710 

Mechanical    implements    and 

tools 1,50242 

Medical  and  surgical  attend- 
ance     -  2,49695 

Newspapers 1962 

Operating  electric  plant 16,839  17 

Operating  launches 80025 

Operating  power  plant 52,181  64 

Operating  railway _  21 ,590  42 

Operating  sewerage  cleansing 

works  ..  219  30 


347 


Carried  forward. . . .     $470,298  18  $27,308,138  98 


348 


APPENDIX  "  C." 


Brought  forward $470,298  18  $27,308,138  98 

Operating  Terminal  Station.  3,214  33 

Operating  water  and  sewer- 
age...   9,40444 

Operating  water  supply 5 , 387  99 

Personal  in j  uries 985  90 

Police  protection 133,590  58 

Postage -  1,85662 

Premiums  on  employes' bonds  185  58 

Preserving  and  repairing  prop- 
erty   7,70728 

Relaying  tracks 3,009  86 

Removing  buildings  (miscel- 
laneous small  buildings)...  971  04 

Removing  debris _  606  07 

Removing  electric  plant 30,603  54 

Removing  exhibits _  63,745  91 

Removing  fences -  314  36 

Removing  garbage _  2,761  64 

Removing  statues 69  25 

Removing  power  plant 64,459  77 

Removing  tracks _  893  20 

Removing  ice  and  snow -  291  60 

Removing  water  and  sewer- 

ageplant.. 4,57385 

Rent  of  grounds. 17,931  02 

Rent  of  offices 9,49709 

Repairing  bridges 201  87 

Repairing  buildings 18,062  25 

Repairing  fences 634  12 

Repairing  fountains ,  _  53  73 

Repairing  interior  docking...  647  62 

Repairing  piers  and  break- 
waters .. 99594 

Repairing  statuary 3,027  93 

Repairing  viaducts _  201  87 

Repairs  and  fittings  for  offices 

and  buildings 2,023  35 

Roadways  and  sidewalks 2,592  09 

Salaries  of  clerks 51,742  60 

Salaries  of  officers _  25,608  10 

Secret  service 9,60536 

Salvage  expenses 6,198  68 

Seats  for  grounds 7202 

Stable  expenses _  16,487  88 

Stationery  and  printing 2,918  88 

Storage  on  exhibits 2  65 

Subsistence  allowance _  1 ,538  52 

Supplies  for  offices  and  build- 
ings    1,117  75 

Superintending  grounds  and 

buildings 14,376  28 

Teaming 391  75 

Telegrams  and  cablegrams  ._  157  77 

Telephones 1,29928 

Temporary  buildings 694  96 

Carried  forward....  $993,012  35  $27,308,138  98 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR.  349 

Brought  forward. . . .  $993,012  35  $27,308,138  98 
Temporary    sidewalks    and 

roadways 2202 

Traveling  expenses _  _  699  21 

Typewriter    repairs    and    sup- 
plies   17933 

Warehouse  expenses 38,596  05 

Waterfowl 5250 

1,032,561 46 


Total  disbursements $28,340,70044 


Total  receipts  from  all  sources $28,787,532  80 

Total  disbursements _.     28,340,700  44 


Balance $     446,83236 

The  total  expenditures  to  date  have  been  twenty-eight 
million  three  hundred  and  forty  thousand  seven  hundred 
dollars  and  forty-four  cents  ($28,340,700.44). 

The  World's  Columbian  Exposition  6  per  cent  debenture 
bonds  principal  ($4,444,500)  is  not  shown  in  this  report,  it 
having  been  paid  in  full  and  account  closed. 

ASSETS.. 
COMPOSED  OF  THE  FOLLOWING: 

IMMEDIATELY  AVAILABLE — 

Cash  in  Chicago  banks $425,99860 

C.  V.  Barrington,  petty  cash 100  00 

$426,098  60 

AVAILABLE  IN  THE  FUTURE — 

Chemical  National  Bank $11,16860 

Bills  receivable 6,953  91 

World's  Columbian  Commission,  their  pro- 
portion of  expenses 2,61125 

20,733  76 


$446,832  36 
NET  ASSETS,  as  per  condensed  balance  sheet 

(page  350) $434,234  18 

ESTIMATED  LIABILITIES,  account  of  unadjusted 

claims...  150,00000 


Balance  NET  ASSETS $284,23418 


350  APPENDIX  "C." 

CONDENSED  BALANCE   SHEET,  30TH  JUNE,  1895. 


Preliminary  organi- 
zation   $  90,67497 

General  and  operat- 
ing expenses 7,490,011  40 

Construction  expen- 
ditures   ! 18,678,46761 

Post  -  Exposition  ex- 
penses!.   1,032,56146 

City  of  Chicago  (divi- 
dend account) 500,000  00 

10  per  cent  dividend.       548,985  00 

Assets  ...$446,832  36 

Liabilities,    12,59818 


Net  assets 


.       434,234 18 
$28,774,934  62 


Capital  stock $  5,617,154  33 

City  of  Chicago 5,000,000  00 

Souvenir    coins    and 
premiums  on  same.    2,446,680  43 

Gate  receipts 10,618,70772 

Concession  receipts.    3,894,45710 

Interest 68,09050 

General  receipts 816,98586 

Post  -  Exposition  re- 
ceipts         312,85868 


$28,774,934  62 


EXPENDITURES   TO   30TH    JUNE,    1895. 
DISTRIBUTED  BY  DEPARTMENTS. 


Pre-Exposition 
and  Exposition. 

Post-Exposition. 

Total. 

Admissions  

$  352,232  88 

$  9,887  45 

$  362,120  33 

Agriculture 

85,566  20 

8,161  88 

93,728  08 

Auditing         ...  

82,076  28 

23,708  67 

105,784  95 

Ceremonies  

315,366  45 

12780 

315,494  25 

Charities  and  Corrections.. 
Commissioner-at-Large  

4,852  95 
5,682  43 

10559 

4,958  54 
5,682  43 

Collections  

90,921  31 

7,252  62 

98,173  93 

Council  of  Administration  _ 
Construction  .     

29,815  95 

18,801,117  74 

59105 

30,407  00 
18,801,117  74 

Custodian 

2  191  77 

2,191  77 

Director-general  (office  em- 
ployes and  expenses)  
Electricity 

24,579  77 
42,690  69 

9,147  87 
4,417  89 

33,727  64 

47,108  58 

Ethnology 

131,266  86 

9,092  33 

140,359  19 

Executive 

125  215  89 

4  324  11 

129  540  00 

Family    Dormitory    Asso- 
ciation                        .  . 

30256 

30256 

Functions      .«..    «...  

127,580  98 

1877 

127,599  75 

Fire  

256,492  04 

12,069  83 

268,561  87 

Finance  Committee 

1,378,14810 

200,000  00 

1,578,148  10 

Fish  and  Fisheries 

30,132  53 

4,793  01 

34,925  54 

Fine  Arts 

105,923  80 

15,648  74 

121,57254 

Carried  forward  

$21,989,96541 

$311,53938 

$22,301,50479 

REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR. 

EXPENDITURES   TO    30TH   JUNE,  IMS  — Continued. 

DISTRIBUTED  BY  DEPARTMENTS. 


351 


Pre-Exposition 
and  Exposition. 

Post-  Exposition. 

Total. 

Brought  forward 

$21  989  965  41 

$311  539  38 

$22  301  504  79 

Floriculture                . 

71  497  48 

2  411  93 

73  909  41 

Forestry- 

13,111  77 

1  356  49 

14  468  26 

Foreign  Affairs       

218,009  91 

99780 

219  007  71 

Grounds  and  Buildings 
Committee 

12,864  01 

12  864  01 

Horticulture          _  

34,497  66 

4,678  84 

39  176  50 

Hygiene  and  Sanitation... 

2,926  82 
337,649  34 

51497 
39998 

3,441  79 
338  04932 

Insurance  Auxiliary 

165  682  78 

303  38 

165  986  16 

Liberal  Arts                   

33,616  08 

4,324  29 

37  940  37 

Livestock               

154,382  26 

2,397  78 

156  780  04 

Lecral 

58,205  47 

1  575  04 

59  780  51 

48,475  99 

7,68002 

56  156  01 

Manufactures  

81,356  57 

9,816  96 

91  173  53 

Marine 

55,566  61 

80025 

56  366  86 

Medical 

46,112  34 

3,171  80 

49  284  14 

Mines  and  Mining.  

61,85491 

6,889  76 

68,744  67 

Music 

386,786  90 

2,056  53 

388  84343 

National  and  State  exhibits 

55,317  00 

55,317  00 

Pomology  

2,378  89 

1500 

2,393  89 

Police 

1,224,504  29 

145,698  59 

1  370  202  88 

Press  and  Printing      

12,195  91 

12,195  91 

Publicity  and  Promotion.. 
Public  Comfort 

191,483  54 
29,928  55 

74800 
15055 

192,231  54 
30,079  10 

Shoe  and  Leather.      

24,587  33 

49235 

25,079  68 

Secretary  _  

61,17304 

12,915  3^ 

74,088  38 

Transportation  exhibits  
Traffic  manager  

69,636  81 
17,129  27 

7,129  58 

76,766  39 
17,129  27 

Treasurer 

121,780  38 

17  418  41 

139,198  79 

United  States  agent 

9494 

9494 

Viticulture 

3,311  82 

20978 

3,521  60 

Ways  and  Means 

181,01604 

3,261  58 

184,277  62 

Woman's                         

21,81932 

3,041  26 

24,860  58 

Woman's  Dormitory  Asso- 
ciation 

20489 

20489 

World's  Congress  Auxili- 
ary 

76,750  26 

1,182  33 

77,932  59 

Operating     ..       _  _      „.. 

1,262,39943 

1,262,39943 

Guides 

7,00735 

7,007  35 

New  York  agency 

15,283  45 

15,283  45 

479,295  44 

479,295  44 

Miscellaneous  

66,899  19 

8805 

66,987  24 

Preliminary     organization 
expenses     .       ......... 

90,674  97 

90,674  97 

Total  expenses  (as  shown 
on  page  349)  

$27,308,138  98 

$1,032,561  46 

$28,340,700  44 

352 


APPENDIX  "  C." 


THE  TOTAL  EXPENDITURES  TO  JULY  i,  1895,  BOTH  CONSTRUCTION  AND 
GENERAL  CONSOLIDATED,  AND  INCLUDING  IN  EACH  CASE  COST  OF 
BUILDINGS  ERECTED  FOR  SPECIAL  USE,  MAY  BE  GROUPED  AS  FOLLOWS  : 

AGRICULTURAL  EXHIBIT. — Agricultural  Building  and  re- 
pairs, general  expenses _ $748,911  97 

ANTHROPOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY  EXHIBIT. —  Anthropolog- 
ical Building  and  repairs,  archaeological  and  ethno- 
logical examinations,  general  expenses 228,062  54 

ARCHITECTURE. — Architects'  fees,   Board    of   Architects, 

draughtmen's  wages,  and  material,  maps,  and  plans         405,019  09 

ART  EXHIBIT. — Galleries  of  Fine  Arts  and  repairs,  exhibits 

purchased,  expenses  of  department _         837,756  35 

BRIDGES. —  Bridges  and  repairs 84,731  06 

CEREMONIES. —  Dedication    and    inaugural,    entertaining 

guests,  invitations,  general  expenses _         258,469  69 

COLORING  AND  DECORATING. —  Exterior  and  interior  paint- 
ing and  decorating,  paint  shop  and  repairs,  general 
expenses 388,30465 

CONCESSION  EXPENSES. — Salaries  of  officers  and  clerks, 
ticket  booths  and  turnstiles  at  lagoons,  uniforms, 
general  expenses _ 132,24295 

DAIRY. —  Dairy  Building  and  repairs,  operating  refrigerat- 
ing plant,  general  expenses 106,817  70 

DAMAGES. —  Personal  injuries,  claims  and  damages,  dam- 
ages to  property _ 472,830  36 

DECORATIONS. — Interior  and  exterior  decorations,  general 

expenses.. 123,60081 

DIVIDENDS. —  City  of  Chicago  appropriation _. _         500 , 000  00 

Capital  stock  (10  per  cent) 548,98500 

DONATIONS  AND  CHARITIES. —  Families  of  firemen,  etc. 24,971  50 

DREDGING. —  Dredging,  excavating,  filling,  rent  of  ma- 
chines  _  615,25436 

ELECTRICAL  EXHIBIT. —  Electricity  Building  and  repairs, 

general  expenses 475,31299 

ELECTRIC  PLANT. —  Construction,  operating,  and  removal 

of  plant,  cost  of  office  building,  general  expenses 1,592,908  38 

ENGINEERING,  GRADING,  AND  SURVEYING. — Wages,  imple- 
ments, and  tools,  surveys  and  examinations,  grades 
and  surveys,  general  expenses _  219,110  74 

FENCING. —  Construction  and  repairs 96,819  10 

FINANCE. —  Interests,  commissions,  souvenir  coin  expenses, 

treasurer's  department,  general  expenses 599,862  34 

FIRE  PROTECTION. —  Engine  houses,  wages  of  firemen,  fire 
plant,  rent  of  apparatus,  extinguishers,  chemicals, 
general  expenses.. 311,24671 

FISHERIES  EXHIBIT.—  Fisheries  Building,  repairs  on  same, 

general  expenses _ 261,00815 

FOREIGN    AGENTS. —  London    agency,    traveling    agents 

abroad,  foreign  agitation,  general  expenses 228,271  84 

FORESTRY  EXHIBIT.—  Forestry  Building,  saw-mill,  repairs, 

general  expenses 111,15951 

FURNITURE  FOR  BUILDINGS. —  Furniture,  tools,  implements, 

general  expenses _ _         128,352  03 

GATE  EXPENSES.—  Salaries  of  officers,  clerks,  ticket  sellers, 

and  gatemen,  uniforms 364,38385 


Carried  forward $9,864,39365 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR. 


353 


Brought  forward $  9,864,39365 

GENERAL  EXPENSES.  —  Salaries,  advertising,  postage,  rents, 
gas,  ice,  incidentals,  heating  offices,  legal  expenses, 
newspapers,  stationery  and  printing,  telegrams,  tele- 
phones, traveling  expenses,  Accounting  and  Adminis- 
tration Building 1,479,52902 

GROUNDS. — Superficial  work  on  same,  such  as  removing 
debris,  garbage,  ice  and  snow,  hauling  material, 
seats,  toilet  buildings,  fountains,  South  Park  Com- 
missioners' final  settlement. 707,258  28 

HORTICULTURAL  AND  FLORICULTURAL  EXHIBIT. —  Horticul- 
tural Building,  heating,  repairs,  implements  and  tools, 
greenhouses,  gardening,  general  expenses 464,878  68 

INSTALLING  AND  REMOVING  EXHIBITS. —  Installing  exhibits, 
freight  on  loan  exhibits,  bonded  warehouse,  storage 
houses  for  packing-cases,  and  removing  exhibits 592,907  06 

INSURANCE. —  Insurance  on  buildings  and  exhibits,  accident 

insurance  _ 172,135  35 

JANITORS. —  Janitors,  attendants,   messengers,  uniforms, 

guides _         383,92975 

LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. —  Landscape  architecture,  imple- 
ments and  tools,  gardening,  propagating  house,  gen- 
eral expenses  555,59300 

LIVE-STOCK  EXHIBIT. —  Live-stock  building,  sheds,  repairs, 

silo  building,  premiums,  forage,  general  expenses 299,238  33 

MACHINERY  EXHIBIT. —  Machinery  Building,  repairs,  gen- 
eral expenses 1,272,936  99 

MANUFACTURES  AND  LIBERAL  ARTS  EXHIBIT. —  Manufac- 
tures and  Liberal  Arts  Building,  repairs,  clock  tower, 
general  expenses _ 1,904,97671 

MARINE. —  Operating  launches,  waterfowl,  floating  prop- 
erty, general  expenses 139,30258 

MEDICAL  AND  SURGICAL. —  Surgeons,  physicians,  nurses, 

medicine,  temporary  hospital,  general  expenses 49,248  05 

MINES  AND  MINING  EXHIBIT. —  Mines  Building,  repairs, 

operating  laboratory,  general  expenses _         333,443  26 

Music. —  Services  of  bands,  symphony  orchestra,  music 
hall,  choral  building,  band  stands,  sheet  music,  organ 
and  organ  recitals,  general  expenses 607,377  75 

NATIONAL  AGITATION. —  Agitation,     legislation,    outside 

agencies 87,72366 

PIERS    AND    BREAKWATERS. —  Piers,  breakwater,    interior 

docking,  repairs _         607,28855 

POLICE  PROTECTION. —  Guards,  secret  service,  signal  boxes, 

barracks,  uniforms,  police  stations,  general  expenses.      1,418,061  38 

POWER  PLANT. —  Construction,  operation  and  removal  of 
power  plant,  boiler  plant,  runways  and  traveling 
cranes,  general  expenses _.'. _  1,582,614  77 

PRELIMINARY  ORGANIZATION. —  Expenses    prior   to    legal 

organization 90,67497 

PUBLIC  COMFORT. — Public  Comfort  Building,  repairs,  gen- 
eral expenses - 163,281  49 

RAILWAY  TRANSPORTATION. —  Railway  tracks,  right  of  way, 
rent  of  grounds,  perron  and  train  sheds,  terminal 
station,  repairs,  operation,  elevation  of  Illinois  Central 
tracks,  general  expenses 1,353,36935 

Carried  forward $24,130,16263 

23 


354 


APPENDIX  "  C" 


Brought  forward ,.. $24,130,162  63 

REPRODUCTION  OF  CONVENT  OF  LA  RABIDA.  —  Building, 

repairs,  installation,  general  expenses __  25,009  16 

ROADWAYS  AND  SIDEWALKS. —  Roadways,  sidewalks,  tem- 
porary walks  and  drives,  maintenance 416,50127 

SCULPTURE. —  Modeling,  statues,  colonnade  and  obelisk, 

peristyle,  tools,  staff  houses,  repairs,  general  expenses.  863,554  25 

SHOE  AND  LEATHER  EXHIBIT. — Shoe  and  Leather  Building, 

repairs,  contribution,  general  expenses 113,819  30 

SPECIAL  ATTRACTIONS. —  Pyrotechnical  displays,  outdoor 

concerts,  entertainments 127,635  09 

STABLE  EXPENSES. —  Horses,  wagons,  harness,  shoeing, 

feed,  bedding,  buildings,  repairs,  general  expenses.  125,400  41 

SUPERINTENDENCE  AND  INSPECTION. —  Superintendents,  in- 
spectors, experts,  general  expenses 302,523  51 

TRANSPORTATION  EXHIBIT.— Transportation  Building,  re- 
pairs, general  expenses 602,561  63 

VIADUCTS. — Van  Buren  Street,  Midway  Plaisance,  and 

repairs 39,83950 

WATER  AND  SEWERAGE. —  Construction,  operation,  and 
removal  of  plant,  pumping  station,  sewerage  cleans- 
ing works,  niters,  general  expenses 1,180,520  43 

WOMAN'S  BUILDING. —  Woman's  Building,  repairs,  general 

expenses 145,68019 

WORLD'S  CONGRESS  AUXILIARY. —  Rent  of  Art  Building, 

general  expenses 267,49305 

$28,340,700  44 


STATEMENT  OF  RECEIPTS  AND   EXPENSES  CONDUCTING  THE   EXPOSITION, 
FROM  IST  MAY  TO  3 IST  OCTOBER,  1893. 


MONTH. 


Receipts. 


Expenses. 


Net. 


May 

June 

July 

August 

September 
October.. 


616,14061 
1,647,64444 
1,967,19484 
2,337,856  25 
3,169,938  92 
4,456,870  33 


593,757  20 
630,595  20 
598,319  97 
569,798  12 
537,566  92 
541,167  20 


22,383  41 
1,017,049  24 
1,368,87487 
1,768,05813 
2,632,372  00 
3,915,703  13 


$14,195,645  39 


$3,471,20461 


$10,724,440  78 


Average  receipts  per  day  (exclusive  of  Sundays),  $89,845  85 
Average  expenses  per  day  (exclusive  of  Sundays),    21,969  64 

In  arriving  at  the  foregoing  result  no  account,  of  course, 
has  been  taken  of  construction  expenses,  but  only  such 
charges  as  were  applicable  to  the  management  of  the  Expo- 
sition during  the  six  months  of  its  continuance  were  con- 
sidered. Respectfully  submitted, 

WILLIAM  K.  ACKERMAN, 

CHAS.  V.  BARRINGTON,  Auditor. 

Ass't  Auditor. 


APPENDIX  "D." 

WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 
DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


CHICAGO,  January  i,  1895. 

HARLOW  N.  HIGINBOTHAM, 

President  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

SIR: 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  as  the  final 
report  of  the  Department  of  Admissions  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition : 

The  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Department  of 
Admissions  was  tendered  me  by  the  Bureau  of  Admissions 
and  Collections  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  and 
accepted  on  December  27,  1892.  My  department  was  to 
be  under  the  control  of  this  Bureau  of  Admissions  and 
Collections,  which  was  a  committee  consisting  of  Edward 
B.  Butler,  chairman;  Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  Ferdinand  W. 
Peck,  Anthony  F.  Seeberger,  and  William  K.  Ackerman. 
Under  the  supervision  of  this  bureau  my  department  was 
organized  and  equipped  for  the  work  in  hand.  The  general 
questions  of  policy  and  the  systems  to  be  adopted  were 
determined  by  me  in  consultation  with  the  bureau.  Long 
and  frequent  meetings  were  held,  and  I  desire  to  express 
my  deep  sense  of  obligation  to  each  member  of  the  bureau 
for  their  patience  and  their  careful  consideration  of  the 
necessities  of  my  work.  On  June  24,  1893,  the  Bureau  of 
Admissions  and  Collections  was  abolished  by  a  vote  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  and  the  superintendent  of  Admissions 
thereafter  received  his  instructions  direct  from  yourself  as 
chairman  of  the  Council  of  Administration.  This  change, 
while  in  the  direction  of  a  closer  and  better  organization, 

(355) 


356  APPENDIX  ••/?." 

was  more  apparent  than  real,  from  the  fact  that  it  had 
been  the  aim  of  everyone  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
department  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  Council  of 
Administration  and  to  work  in  the  interest  of  harmony,  to 
the  end  that  good  business  methods  might  always  obtain. 
The  department  which  I  was  called  upon  to  organize  was 
expected  to  perform  an  enormous  work.  It  would  seem  that 
the  time  allowed  me  was  perilously  short;  the  same,  however, 
was  true  to  an  equal  or  greater  extent  of  every  branch  of 
the  Exposition's  work.  An  office  was  established  immedi- 
ately at  Jackson  Park,  and  no  time  was  lost  in  looking  the 
ground  over  and  making  the  necessary  preparations.  In  the 
four  months  elapsing  between  my  engagement  and  the  date 
fixed  for  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  it  was  necessary  to 
perfect  arrangements  for  ticket  booths  and  entrance  gates, 
fix  upon  a  system  of  admission  tickets  for  the  enormous 
attendance  which  was  expected,  arrange  for  the  printing  of 
such  tickets,  and  also  for  a  system  of  free  admissions  for 
those  entitled  to  this  courtesy  and  those  whose  business 
brought  them  within  the  Exposition  grounds,  either  as 
employes  under  the  administration  or  as  exhibitors.  These 
and  a  multitude  of  other  questions  connected  with  the 
engagement  of  a  force  of  ticket  sellers,  ticket  takers,  inspect- 
ors, and  office  employes,  all  to  be  of  such  a  character  that 
reliance  could  be  placed  in  their  integrity  and  intelligence, 
were  among  the  things  which  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
superintendent  and  of  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Col- 
lections. 

ENTRANCES. 

Booths  and  entrances  had  been  constructed  at  Jackson 
Park  for  the  purpose  of  experimenting  with  the  visitors  who 
came  to  the  Exposition  grounds  during  the  construction 
period.  The  entrances  were  of  the  zigzag  pattern.  The 
ticket  then  in  use  was  perforated  through  the  middle.  The 
purchaser,  on  entering  the  grounds,  presented  his  ticket  to 
the  first  ticket  taker,  who  tore  off  one-half,  depositing  it  in 
the  box  and  allowing  the  purchaser  to  pass  on  with  the 
remainder  of  the  ticket  through  the  zigzag  to  the  other  end, 
where  the  second  ticket  taker  took  the  balance  of  the  ticket- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


357 


and  deposited  it  in  his  can.  At  close  of  business  the  contents 
of  the  two  cans  should  agree.  The  first  ticket  taker  was 
hidden  from  the  second,  and  either  one  could  be  relieved 
from  duty  by  a  third  ticket  taker  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  other,  by  which  means  it  was  expected  that  collusion 
between  ticket  takers  might  be  guarded  against.  This  sys- 
tem might  possibly  have  answered  well  for  a  smaller  crowd, 
but  could  not  have  been  satisfactorily  operated  during  any 
of  the  crowded  days  which  we  experienced.  The  entire 
experimental  system  was  therefore  discarded  and,  in  accord- 
ance with  recommendations  made  by  me  to  the  bureau  on 
January  2ist,  after  consultation  with  the  Department  of 
Works — which  recommendations  the  bureau  approved  and 
instructed  me  to  carry  into  effect  —  a  new  set  of  booths  and 
entrances  was  constructed.  These  entrances  and  booths 
were  located  as  follows  : 

Cornell  Avenue  and  Fifty-sixth  Street. 
Fifty-seventh  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
Fifty-ninth  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
Sixtieth  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
Madison  Avenue  (north  side  of  Midway  Plaisance). 
Woodlawn  Avenue  (north  side  of  Midway  Plaisance). 
Cottage  Grove  Avenue  (east  end  of  Midway  Plaisance). 
Woodlawn  Avenue  (south  side  of  Midway  Plaisance). 
Madison  Avenue  (south  side  of  Midway  Plaisance). 
Sixty-second  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
Sixty-fourth  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
Sixty -fifth  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
Sixty-seventh  Street  and  Stony  Island  Avenue. 
"Alley  L"  Terminal. 
Terminal  Railroad  Station. 
Casino  Pier. 
North  Pier. 
Palmer  Avenue. 

In  arranging  for  ticket  booths  at  the  Terminal  Station 
and  the  Casino  Pier,  the  plans  of  these  structures  were 
found  to  be  of  such  magnitude  that  it  was  necessary  for  this 
department  to  follow  them.  Excursion  trains  were  expected 
from  outlying  sections  within  a  night's  ride  of  Jackson 
Park,  and  these,  it  had  been  thought,  would  crowd  the 
Terminal  Station  with  visitors  coming  direct  to  the  park 


358  APPENDIX  "/?." 

for  a  single  visit,  returning  to  their  homes  at  night.  This 
expectation  was  not  realized,  and  the  strictly  "excursion" 
business  could  have  been  handled  in  a  much  smaller  com- 
pass. The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  Chicago  &  Northern 
Pacific  roads  ran  trains  into  this  station  from  the  Grand 
Central  Depot  and  from  suburbs  on  the  west  side  of  the 
city,  and  for  some  time  this  was  the  only  use  to  which  the 
station  was  put.  Later  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  ran 
their  World's  Fair  trains  into  this  station,  so  that  persons 
coming  from  the  heart  of  the  city  by  these  trains  could 
leave  them  and  enter  Jackson  Park  either  at  Sixtieth  Street 
(Midway  Plaisance),  Sixty-third  Street  (Woodlawn),  or  at 
the  Terminal  Station,  according  as  they  desired  to  visit  the 
northern,  central,  or  southern  portions  of  the  Exposition 
grounds.  From  this  time  on  the  Terminal  Station  received 
a  large  share  of  business  and  proved  a  great  convenience, 
but,  except  on  one  or  two  occasions,  when  the  crowd  at  the 
park  was  of  such  magnitude  that  it  would  have  congested 
whatever  facilities  might  have  been  provided,  the  accommo- 
dations at  this  station  were  far  in  excess  of  the  demand. 

At  the  Casino  Pier  it  was  necessary  to  have  booths  and 
entrances  at  both  sides  in  order  that  boats  might  be  pro- 
tected from  winds  and  storms,  and,  on  account  of  the  large 
patronage  expected  by  water,  the  pier  was  built  of  great 
length  and  a  large  number  of  entrances  constructed.  It  was 
seldom,  however,  that  a  large  number  of  these  were  in  use 
at  any  one  time. 

Soon  after  the  Exposition  opened,  new  booths  and  en- 
trances were  established  on  Fifty-ninth  and  Sixtieth  streets, 
where  the  tracks  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  cross  the 
Midway  Plaisance,  so  that  persons  leaving  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral trains  or  electric  cars  at  these  points  could  enter  the 
grounds  at  once  instead  of  walking  to  the  entrances  on  Stony 
Island  Avenue.  This  was  necessitated  by  the  popularity  of 
the  Midway  Plaisance,  which  was  greater  than  had  been 
generally  anticipated. 

Six  ticket  offices  were  opened  at  Van  Buren  Street  and 
Michigan  Avenue,  on  the  approach  to  the  viaduct  leading 
over  the  Illinois  Central  tracks,  for  the  purpose  of  ticketing 
visitors  in  the  city  before  they  took  trains  for  the  park,  thus 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  359 

relieving  the  congestion  which  might  be  expected  at  the 
ticket  offices  located  at  the  entrances  to  the  park. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  ticket  booths  in  the  sub- 
urban stations  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  at  Twenty- 
second,  Thirty-sixth,  Thirty-ninth,  and  Forty-third  streets, 
with  the  same  general  purpose  of  relieving  congestion  at  the 
gates.  In  making  this  arrangement,  however,  the  depart- 
ment was  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  100,000  tickets  of 
admission  were  to  be  delivered  to  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company  on  May  i,  1893,  as  a  part  of  the  consideration 
for  which  this  company  agreed  to  elevate  its  tracks  in  the 
vicinity  of  Jackson  Park.  There  was  some  understanding 
or  expectation  that  these  tickets  would  not  be  sold  in  the 
city,  but  sent  to  agents  outside  of  the  city  for  sale,  instead  of 
which  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  tickets  were  sold  at  stations  on 
the  suburban  system,  and  thus  our  suburban  station  ticket 
offices  proved  of  little  use  to  us. 

Ticket  offices  were  located  in  the  Sherman,  Grand  Pacific, 
Auditorium  and  Auditorium  Annex  hotels,  McClurg's  book- 
store, and  Chase  &  Company's  piano  store  —  all  with  the  idea 
of  preventing  congestion  at  the  gates.  The  expense  of 
maintaining  these  agencies  was  nominal  and  the  result 
entirely  satisfactory.  No  arrangements  were  made  with  the 
4<  Alley  L  "  road  for  the  sale  of  tickets,  but  the  plan  of  the 
"  Alley  L  "  terminal  station  in  Jackson  Park  afforded  ample 
facilities  for  caring  for  all  visitors  coming  by  that  line. 

It  would  have  been  preferable  and  in  the  interest  of 
economy  had  the  ticket  booths  at  the  main  entrances  been 
located  upon  one  side  instead  of  both  sides  of  the  wagon 
gates,  but  the  wagon  gates  were  already  a  fixture,  and  the 
department  was  obliged  to  adapt  itself  to  the  situation. 
The  ticket  booths  were  roomy,  comfortable,  and  of  pleasing 
design.  Much  trouble  was  experienced  in  securing  electric 
light  for  some  weeks  after  the  Exposition  opened,  but  this 
service  was  gradually  improved. 

The  service  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  with  its  two 
tracks  for  suburban  business  and  two  for  trains  running 
without  stopping  between  Van  Buren  Street  and  Jackson 
Park,  made  it  possible  to  bring  trains  to  the  park  every  five 
minutes,  and  oftener  less,  proving  a  source  of  great  revenue 


360  APPENDIX  ".£>." 

to  that  company  and  swelling  the  attendance  to  the  Exposi- 
tion; also  contributing  in  a  large  degree  to  the  comfort  and 
satisfaction  of  the  patrons  of  the  railroad  and  of  the  Expo- 
sition. 

The  World's  Fair  Steamship  Company  also  did  good 
service,  and  owing  to  the  exceptionally  fine  weather  which 
prevailed  during  most  of  the  Exposition  season,  were  ena- 
bled to  run  boats  as  advertised,  maintaining  their  schedule 
with  considerable  regularity,  and  landing  large  numbers  of 
people  at  the  North  Pier  and  the  Casino  Pier. 

The  terminal  station  of  the  "Alley  L"  road  was  con- 
structed over  the  roof  of  the  annex  of  the  Transportation 
Building,  from  whence  visitors  found  their  way  down  flights 
of  stairs  into  the  Exposition  grounds.  There  were  three 
broad  flights,  the  central  one  for  exit  purposes,  and  those  on 
either  side  for  entrances.  The  ticket  booths  and  entrances 
were  located  at  the  bottom  of  the  two  side  flights  of  stairs. 
The  terminal  of  the  road  on  the  roof  above  had  two  stubs. 
The  visitors  dismounting  from  trains  on  one  stub  entered 
the  grounds  down  one  of  these  side  flights,  and  those  dis- 
mounting on  the  other  stub  used  the  other  flight.  The  mid- 
dle flight,  used  for  exit  purposes,  was  a  source  of  some 
apprehension  for  a  time,  as  the  exit  gates  were  located  at 
the  top  of  the  staircase,  and  in  times  of  congestion  the 
stairs  would  be  crowded  with  visitors  waiting  for  trains. 
The  staircases  were  carefully  and  strongly  built,  and  fre- 
quent tests  revealed  no  weakness,  but  all  danger  from  con- 
gestion was  soon  removed  by  locating  exit  gates  at  the 
bottom  of  the  flight  and  preventing  large  crowds  from 
standing  on  the  steps. 

TICKETS. 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Bureau  of  Admis- 
sions and  Collections  the  use  of  the  5o-cent  silver  coin  as 
a  ticket  of  admission  to  the  grounds  was  strongly  advo- 
cated, the  precedent  of  its  use  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition 
and  the  strong  terms  in  which  it  was  commended  by  the 
general  manager  of  admissions  at  that  exhibition  being 
among  the  arguments  in  its  favor.  Also  it  was  urged  that 
by  this  means  the  expense  of  printing  and  handling  tickets 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  361 

would  be  avoided,  besides  which  the  Exposition  would 
have  a  ticket  the  penalty  for  counterfeiting  which  would  be 
far  more  serious  than  in  the  case  of  a  printed  ticket.  It  had 
for  some  time  been  assumed  that  the  coin  system  would  be 
adopted  in  preference  to  the  ticket  system,  but  as  time  went 
on  other  reasons  became  apparent  which  led  to  the  adoption 
of  the  ticket  system,  consisting  of  a  series  of  finely  engraved 
tickets  which  would  be  desirable  as  souvenirs  and  a  series 
of  cheap  tickets  which  could  be  rapidly  procured  at  small 
cost  and  which  could  be  changed  at  any  day  —  almost  at 
any  hour  —  to  guard  against  the  danger  of  counterfeiting. 
By  this  means  the  expense  of  locating  money-changers  at 
all  entrances  to  make  exact  change  and  of  counting  and 
arranging  coins  for  the  bank  avoided.  The  ticket  was 
to  be  deposited  in  the  hopper  and  mutilated  by  the  same 
motion  with  which  the  ticket  taker  admitted  the  visitor 
through  the  turnstile.  The  mutilated  ticket  remained  as  a 
check  on  the  register  and  also  on  the  ticket  seller.  Tickets 
of  a  neat  engraved  design,  offered  by  the  American  Bank 
Note  Company  of  New  York,  were  accepted.  These  tickets 
were  about  the  size  of  the  old  United  States  fractional 
currency  notes,  bearing  the  signature  of  the  president  and 
treasurer  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  They  were 
in  four  series,  distinguished  from  each  other  by  the  vignettes. 
A  vignette  portrait  of  Columbus  was  used  for  one  series,  a 
typical  American  Indian  for  the  second,  Washington  for 
the  third,  and  Lincoln  for  the  fourth.  These  tickets  were 
numbered  consecutively  and  placed  in  packages  of  100 
each,  strapped  both  ways,  and  shipped  in  bundles  of  5,000 
each.  Six  millions  of  these  tickets  were  ordered,  1,500,000 
of  each  series.  The  paper  used  was  a  certain  prepared 
paper  used  by  the  United  States  Government  for  the  print- 
ing of  bonds,  and  the  American  Bank  Note  Company  first 
secured  the  consent  of  the  United  States  Treasurer  before 
using  it  for  Exposition  purposes.  The  paper  had  a  peculiar 
mottled  appearance,  which  could  be  discovered  by  holding 
it  to  the  light,  and  the  spots  could  also  be  felt  with  the 
hands.  As  only  6,000,000  of  the  souvenir  tickets  were 
ordered  it  will  be  apparent  that  the  bureau  intended  to 
rely  for  the  bulk  of  admissions  upon  the  cheaper  form  of 


362  APPENDIX  "Z>." 

ticket.  This  was  a  plain  ticket,  having  but  little  ornamen- 
tation, bearing  upon  its  face  the  signatures  of  the  president 
and  treasurer  and  upon  its  back  a  scroll  of  geometric  lathe 
work.  The  cost  of  this  ticket  was  only  about  one-eighth 
of  that  of  the  souvenir  ticket,  and  it  was  changed  daily, 
the  ticket  being  good  for  admission  only  on  the  day  of 
sale.  They  were  furnished  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  under 
a  bid  made  by  them  to  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Col- 
lections. The  various  series  were  distinguished  by  letters  of 
the  alphabet  in  connection  with  numbers,  as  for  example: 
A,  i  A,  2  A,  B,  i  B,  2  B,  etc.  Twenty-five  millions  of  these 
tickets  were  ordered  as  follows: 

Forty  packages,  300,000  tickets 12,000,000 

Thirty  packages,  200,000  tickets 6,000,000 

Twenty  packages,  150,000  tickets 3,000,000 

Forty  packages,  100,000  tickets 4,000,000 

Total 25,000,000 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  the  Exposition 
had  two  forms  of  general  admission  tickets  on  sale,  the  first 
being  the  elaborate  engraved  ticket,  good  for  admission  to 
the  Exposition  on  any  day,  and  the  second  being  the  inex- 
pensive ticket  sold  at  the  gates  and  good  only  on  day  of  sale. 
The  latter  was  of  a  style  which  changed  with  each  day  of  the 
Exposition,  to  prevent  counterfeiting ;  the  former  was  so 
carefully  made  as  to  almost  defy  counterfeiting.  The  advan- 
tage expected  from  the  use  of  the  engraved  ticket  was  that 
many  of  them  would  be  retained  as  souvenirs  and  never 
presented  at  the  gates,  thus  netting  a  considerable  amount 
to  the  Exposition  over  and  above  the  actual  number  of  cash 
admissions.  This  expectation  was  realized  to  a  considerable 
extent,  for  many  more  tickets  were  sold  than  were  presented 
at  the  gates  for  admission,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  surplus 
of  engraved  tickets  remaining  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition 
were  subsequently  disposed  of  as  souvenirs. 

TURNSTILES. 

The  problems  connected  with  the  adoption  of  a  ticket 
were  intimately  associated  with  the  form  of  entrance  and 
manner  of  entering  the  park  by  the  visitors.  Various  turn- 
stiles were  under  consideration  during  the  time  the  ticket 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  363 

question  was  being  discussed,  the  aim  being  to  secure  for  our 
use  a  stile  which  would  give  a  complete  register  of  every 
person  passing  through  the  gates,  whether  by  complimentary 
pass,  employes'  pass,  or  ticket,  and,  if  possible,  to  so  deface 
and  destroy  tickets  as  to  prevent  their  being  used  again. 
Turnstiles  and  choppers  were  presented  for  consideration 
which,  if  accepted,  would  have  required  the  services  of  two 
men  ;  others  presented  a  combination  turnstile  and  chopper 
which  could  be  operated  by  one  man.  The  shortness  of  the 
time  remaining  proved  a  serious  obstacle  in  this  matter.  By 
the  middle  of  February  several  parties  whose  turnstiles  were 
on  exhibition  withdrew  them,  claiming  that  the  time  was  too 
short  in  which  to  fill  the  contract,  if  awarded  them.  The 
Department  of  Works  advertised  for  bids  for  renting  turn- 
stiles and  choppers  during  the  period  from  May  ist  to  Octo- 
ber 3oth,  inclusive,  and  on  March  gth  a  contract  was  awarded 
to  the  Casper  Automatic  Gate  Company,  Limited,  of  New 
Orleans,  for  350  turnstiles  and  choppers  at  a  rental  basis. 
Under  this  contract  the  Casper  Company  was  obliged  to 
furnish  satisfactory  turnstiles  and  choppers  combined,  to- 
gether with  the  register,  cans  for  the  reception  of  the  tickets, 
and  locks  for  the  doors  connected  with  the  stiles  —  all  to  be 
in  place  in  satisfactory  order  by  May  ist.  Delays  in  trans- 
portation and  switching  from  the  city  into  the  terminal 
yards,  caused  by  the  severe  congestion  of  traffic  incident  to 
the  Exposition,  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  company  to 
fulfill  this  contract  satisfactorily.  Other  causes,  mostly 
beyond  the  control  of  the  contracting  company,  added  to 
this  delay.  The  stiles  were,  however,  finally  put  in  place, 
and  proved  satisfactory.  The  mutilation  of  the  ticket  by  the 
chopper  was  too  great,  however,  and  prevented  our  obtaining 
the  actual  attendance,  therefore  the  chopper  was  discon- 
tinued in  July,  and  after  that  the  tickets  were  not  mutilated 
at  all.  The  register,  which  had  been  accepted  as  satisfactory 
and  guaranteed  as  reliable  when  the  contract  was  awarded, 
proved  to  be  the  reverse.  It  was  found  necessaiy  to  remove 
them  and  substitute  the  "  Davis "  register,  and  after  July 
26th  very  few  complaints  were  heard  on  account  of  the 
register.  After  that  date  the  register,  unless  pronounced 
out  of  order,  gave  us  the  actual  number  that  passed  through 


364  APPENDIX  "£>." 

the  gate.  The  party  who  held  the  contract  for  the  turnstile 
kept  a  sufficient  force  of  skilled  mechanics  upon  the  grounds 
to  look  over  every  gate  at  night  and  adjust  any  defects  that 
might  be  found. 

PASSES. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  establishment  of  a  safe  system 
of  paid  admissions  and  proper  regulations  and  equipment  at 
the  gates  was  the  question  of  free  admission.  It  was  appar- 
ent from  the  outset  that  an  enormous  number  of  persons 
would  be  entitled  to  free  admission.  This  number  was 
expected  to  be  out  of  all  proportion  to  that  of  the  Centennial 
and  greater  than  that  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889.  It 
was  accepted  as  a  foregone  conclusion  that  many  would 
secure  free  admission  who  were  not  entitled  to  it,  and  that 
employes'  passes  would  be  abused  ;  the  problem  was  simply 
to  minimize  this  abuse.  The  photographic  pass  system  in 
use  at  both  of  the  expositions  mentioned  was  adopted  with 
some  changes.  At  the  Centennial  the  ticket  used  was  in  the 
form  of  a  book  cover.  Inside  a  space  was  set  apart  for  each 
day  of  the  exhibition,  with  the  date  engraved  therein.  This 
pass  bore  the  photograph  of  the  person  entitled  to  use  it, 
and  the  ticket  was  punched  when  the  bearer  entered  the 
grounds.  We  adopted  a  pass  in  the  form  of  a  book  bearing 
the  photograph  and  also  the  autograph  of  the  person  entitled 
to  use  it  on  the  inside  of  the  cover.  The  book  was  made  up 
of  coupons  bearing  the  date  of  the  days  upon  which  the 
Exposition  was  open,  and  a  coupon  was  detached  when  the 
bearer  entered  the  grounds.  The  theory  of  the  Bureau  of 
Admissions  and  Collections  in  adopting  the  photographic 
pass  system  was  that  its  use  should  be  practically  universal 
among  all  those  entitled  to  free  admission,  excepting  those 
whose  official  position  demanded  recognition  by  the  Exposi- 
sition,  viz.,  the  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  members  of  the  Cabinet,  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  members  of  Congress,  etc.  Being 
less  liable  to  abuse  by  transfer  than  a  simple  card  of  admis- 
sion, the  bureau  sought  to  enforce  the  use  of  this  pass  for 
the  great  bulk  of  the  free  admissions.  For  this  purpose 
those  high  in  official  authority  under  the  Exposition  Com- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  365 

pany,  the  National  Commission,  or  the  various  foreign  com- 
missioners were  asked  to  use  this  photographic  pass  in  order 
to  strengthen  the  bureau  in  its  endeavor  to  enforce  the  use 
of  this  pass  generally.  In  most  cases  this  plan  was  concurred 
in  and  approved  of,  and  photographic  passes  were  issued  to 
the  president  and  directors  of  the  Exposition,  the  officers  of 
the  National  Commission,  and  the  officers  of  the  various  for- 
eign commissions.  In  some  quarters  opposition  to  it  arose, 
and  occasionally  some  one  would  feel  it  an  indignity 
to  be  compelled  to  identify  himself  by  a  photograph  in 
order  to  enter  the  grounds.  Where  this  opposition  was 
encountered  it  was  usually  impossible  to  overcome  it  by  any 
argument,  and  much  embarrassment  was  caused  thereby. 
Patience  and  considerable  firmness,  however,  enabled  us  to 
bring  about  the  use  of  this  pass  in  most  cases,  even  where 
there  was  no  danger  of  abuse  by  transfer,  thus  giving  us  the 
example  which  we  desired,  and  enabling  us  to  compel  the 
use  of  the  photographic  pass  among  the  great  mass  of  those 
entering  the  grounds  for  business  purposes  in  connection 
with  exhibits,  concessions,  the  press,  etc. 

A  complimentary  card  of  admission  was  issued  to  the 
principal  officers  of  the  United  States  Government,  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  and  the  Governors  of  the  States  and  Ter- 
ritories of  the  United  States.  The  following  is  the  rule 
adopted  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  and  approved  by  the  World's  Columbian  Com- 
mission, governing  free  admission  to  the  Exposition  grounds  : 

Complimentary  tickets  shall  be  issued  to  those  whose  official  position 
demands  recognition  by  the  Exposition,  viz.,  to  the  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States;  members  of  the  Cabinet;  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States;  members  of  Congress  of  the  United 
States  and  the  chief  officers  thereof;  the  Diplomatic  Corps;  Governors  of 
the  States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States;  the  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  and  the  members  of  its  council;  the  members  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission  and  their  alternates ;  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  and  ex-directors  thereof;  the  members 
of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers  and  their  alternates;  the  members  of  the 
State  and  Territorial  World's  Fair  boards;  members  of  the  Board  of 
Control  and  Management  of  the  United  States  Government  Exhibit ; 
foreign  commissioners  and  their  secretaries;  judges  and  jurors  of  awards; 
all  the  executive  officers  of  the  Exposition;  all  the  custom  house  officers, 
clerks,  and  employes  connected  with  the  United  States  Treasury  Depart- 


366  APPENDIX  "£>." 

ment  in  the  service  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  within  the  Exposi- 
tion grounds;  to  the  members  of  the  Board  of  South  Park  Commissioners; 
one  each  to  a  representative  of  the  principal  and  most  prominent  news- 
papers of  this  and  foreign  countries;  certain  members  of  the  police  and 
fire  departments  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  to  any  other  person  or  per- 
sons who  may  be  adjudged  to  be  entitled  to  a  complimentary  pass  by  the 
president  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  the  president  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Commission,  and  the  director-general.  In  all  cases 
where  a  pass  is  issued  upon  the  request  of  the  president  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission,  the  president  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion, or  the  director-general,  such  pass  shall  bear  the  signature  of  such 
officer  who  makes  the  application  therefor. 

All  persons  who  may  be  actually  employed  by  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission  and  by  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  all  necessary 
employes  of  World's  Fair  State  boards  in  connection  with  the  work  of 
the  Exposition,  shall  be  given  free  passes  to  the  grounds  during  their 
respective  terms  of  service. 

Each  exhibitor  shall  be  entitled  to  one  pass,  provided  his  presence  is 
required  during  the  installation  of  his  exhibit  and  the  time  same  is  on 
exhibition.  Such  attendants  and  employes  as  are  necessarily  and  regu- 
larly required  for  the  care  of  each  exhibit  respectively,  whose  services  are 
paid  for  by  the  exhibitor,  shall  be  entitled  to  free  admission. 

One  free  pass  shall  be  issued  to  each  person,  firm,  or  corporation 
who  has  been  granted  a  concession  by  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
and  all  the  necessary  servants  and  employes  of  such  concessionists  shall 
be  admitted  free  to  the  Exposition  grounds. 

The  full  term  photographic  pass-book  provided  for  183 
admissions,  one  for  each  day  of  the  Exposition,  and,  in  addi- 
tion, monthly  photographic  pass  books  were  prepared  to  be 
issued  to  employes  of  a  transient  character  whose  service 
was  liable  to  terminate  during  the  current  month.  These 
books  were  consecutively  numbered,  and  were  encased  in  a 
leatherette  cover  or  pocket.  The  American  Bank  Note 
Company  secured  the  contract  for  the  photographic  pass- 
books, their  design  meeting  with  approval  and  the  price 
being  below  all  other  bids.  The  contract  called  for  40,000 
full  term  and  20,000  monthly  books,  but  the  latter  was  in- 
creased later  on  to  40,000,  besides  10,000  not  numbered,  to 
take  the  place  of  books  lost  or  canceled.  In  the  case  of 
monthly  books,  when  the  coupons  for  one  month  were  ex- 
hausted, if  the  person  was  entitled  to  admission  for  another 
month,  a  pad  containing  coupons  for  the  succeeding  month 
was  delivered  to  him  by  the  department,  to  be  slipped  into 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  367 

the  old  pass  cover  and  used  as  before.  A  charge  of  $i  was 
made  for  all  full  term  photographic  passes,  to  cover  the  cost 
of  printing  and  issuing  same. 

The  complimentary  cards  of  admission  were  engraved 
and  printed  for  the  Exposition  by  the  American  Bank  Note 
Company  without  charge,  for  which  the  thanks  of  the  bureau 
were  tendered  to  the  officers  of  the  company. 

The  photographic  pass  was  intended  to  cover  the  bulk 
of  admissions  to  the  Exposition,  but,  in  addition  to  those 
whose  official  position  was  such  as  to  render  it  not  proper 
to  require  a  photograph,  there  was  a  large  class  consisting 
of  day  laborers  in  the  employ  of  contractors  doing  work 
for  the  Exposition,  or  of  exhibitors  in  arranging  booths  or 
placing  exhibits,  who  were  constantly  changing,  from  whom 
it  was  not  possible  to  obtain  a  photograph,  as  they  were 
hired  and  discharged  from  day  to  day.  When  engaged,  their 
services  were  needed  imperatively,  and  means  had  to  be 
provided  for  affording  them  free  admission  in  the  simplest 
and  most  expeditious  manner;  therefore  workmen's  tickets 
good  for  a  month  were  printed,  with  a  different  color  for 
each  month.  These  tickets  were  only  good  through  one 
turnstile  at  each  entrance,  where  the  ticket  was  punched 
as  the  holder  passed  through.  Contractors  were  charged 
$i  for  each  ticket,  to  be  deposited  with  the  treasurer  as  a 
guarantee  for  the  return  of  the  ticket  at  the  end  of  the 
month  or  when  the  holder  ceased  working  for  such  con- 
tractor. The  dollar  was  usually  retained  by  the  contractor 
from  the  salary  of  the  party  using  the  ticket,  and  was 
refunded  at  the  end  of  the  term  of  service  when  the  ticket 
was  surrendered.  Single-day  workmen's  tickets  were  also 
issued  to  care  for  emergency  cases  sure  to  arise.  This 
ticket  was  to  be  canceled  by  perforation.  It  showed  the 
date  issued,  and  was  good  for  admission  only  on  the  date 
set  forth  upon  the  ticket.  These  tickets  were  accepted 
only  at  the  Sixty-second  Street  and  Cottage  Grove  Avenue 
gates.  Single-trip  passes  for  the  use  of  the  president  of 
the  Exposition,  the  president  of  the  Commission,  and  the 
director-general,  were  issued  in  books  of  fifty  to  cover 
emergencies  arising  in  these  offices.  Cards  of  admission 
for  a  short  term  were  also  issued  to  those  attached  to  the 


368 


APPENDIX  "£>." 


Live  Stock  Exhibit  during  the  six  weeks  when  this  exhibit 
was  in  progress,  and  also  to  judges  and  jurors  of  award 
during  the  terms  of  their  service. 

These  are  all  the  forms  of  free  admission  used  by  the 
department.  They  were  not  all  arranged  for  in  advance 
of  the  opening  day.  Some  of  them,  such  as  workmen's 
monthly  and  day  passes,  were  issued  to  care  for  certain 
kinds  of  free  admission,  where  a  photographic  pass  could 
not  be  made  to  work.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  aim  of  the 
department  and  of  the  bureau  at  the  outset  was  to  enforce 
the  photographic  system  as  far  as  possible,  as  affording  the 
better  protection  from  abuse. 

ISSUING   PASSES. 

The  method  of  issuing  passes  was  the  subject  of  long  and 
careful  study.  Many  consultations  were  held  by  the  bureau 
with  the  director-general;  and  the  superintendent,  acting 
under  the  bureau's  instructions,  conferred  at  all  times  with 
the  director-general  and  received  his  hearty  support  and 
cooperation  in  every  effort  to  facilitate  the  proper  operation 
of  the  department's  rules  and  regulations. 

It  was  arranged  that  requests  for  photographic  passes  on 
account  of  foreign  exhibitors  should  first  have  the  signature 
of  the  applicant,  stating  the  space  occupied  by  the  exhibit. 
This  request  received  the  approval  of  the  foreign  commis- 
sioner for  the  country  from  which  the  exhibit  came,  and  was 
then  sent  to  the  director-general's  office,  where  it  was  scru- 
tinized and,  if  approved,  sent  to  the  office  of  the  Department 
of  Admissions,  where  the  book  was  issued  and  an  order  given 
for  a  sitting  with  the  photographer.  The  photographic  order 
carried  with  it  a  ticket  good  for  six  admissions;  this  allowed 
the  party  six  daily  admissions,  and  generally  at  the  end  of 
the  fourth  day  the  photographic  book  was  ready  with  the 
picture  in  place  bearing  the  seal  of  the  Department  of 
Admissions. 

The  applications  for  passes  for  exhibitors  other  than  for- 
eign bore  the  signature  of  the  exhibitor  applying,  the  num- 
ber of  passes  required,  and  the  occupation  of  each  person. 
The  space  which  the  exhibitor  occupied  was  also  designated. 
The  application  then  received  the  approval  of  the  chief  of 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  369 

the  exhibit  department,  who  certified  that  he  had  carefully 
examined  the  application  and  found  that  the  parties  were 
entitled  to  passes  and,  further,  that  he  was  satisfied  that  they 
had  not  received  passes  on  account  of  any  other  exhibit. 
The  application  then  went  to  the  director-general's  office, 
was  scrutinized,  approved,  and  sent  to  the  Department  of 
Admissions,  where  the  book  and  photographic  order  were 
issued  as  in  the  case  of  foreign  exhibitors. 

Each  application,  after  being  filled,  was  recorded  in  the 
books  of  the  Department  of  Admissions  kept  for  that  pur- 
pose, showing  the  name,  the  department  with  which  appli- 
cant was  connected,  the  number  of  the  pass-book,  etc. 

Employes  of  exhibit  departments  received  their  passes 
on  application  from  their  chiefs,  approved  by  the  director- 
general,  and  employes  of  the  Department  of  Works  received 
passes  on  application  from  their  superior  officers,  approved 
by  the  director  of  works. 

Concessionaires  obtained  their  passes  on  application  to 
the  superintendent  of  the  Department  of  Collections,  in 
whose  office  each  case  was  investigated  separately  before 
receiving  his  approval,  after  which  the  application  came  to 
the  Department  of  Admissions  to  be  filled.  All  applications 
for  passes  were  filed  carefully  away  for  future  reference. 

RETURN    CHECKS. 

It  was  frequently  necessary  for  persons  entitled  to  free 
admission  to  pass  out  of  the  grounds  and  return  the  same 
day.  Arrangements  were  made  for  the  issuance  of  return 
checks  to  pass-holders  just  before  they  left  the  grounds 
through  the  exit  turnstiles.  These  return  checks  were  of 
different  colors,  and,  soon  after  the  Exposition  opened, 
arrangements  were  made  for  dating  them  with  a  perforating 
machine,  and  then  these  checks  were  good  only  on  the  day 
indicated. 

BADGES. 

Each  holder  of  a  photographic  book  was  provided  with  a 
neat  bronze  or  aluminum  badge  bearing  a  number.  This 
number  was  registered  against  the  pass  number,  and  each 
party  receiving  a  badge  deposited  with  the  treasurer  $2, 

24 


37O  APPENDIX  "Z>." 

which  was  returned  to  him  at  the  end  of  service,  upon  sur- 
render of  the  badge  and  cancellation  of  book.  The  wearing 
of  this  badge  assisted  in  reducing  the  number  of  photo- 
graphic books,  for  by  taking  the  number  of  his  badge,  when 
worn  by  a  person  apparently  not  engaged  upon  business  in 
the  Exposition  grounds,  the  pass-book  could  be  referred  to, 
the  reasons  for  its  issuance  examined,  and  an  investigation 
instituted.  Further  than  this  the  badge  was  not  particularly 
useful,  except  that  when  it  was  conspicuously  worn  it  was  an 
indication  that  the  wearer  was  not  a  visitor  but  an  officer  or 
employe  in  some  branch  of  the  Exposition.  Being  neat  and 
not  conspicuous,  it  was  generally  worn  by  the  pass-holder, 
and  indeed  a  large  number  of  them  were  retained  as  souve- 
nirs and  never  presented  for  redemption.  Thirty-five  thou- 
sand of  these  badges  were  issued  in  all,  and  the  net  amount 
realized  from  unredeemed  badges  and  from  the  charge  of  $i 
made  for  the  photographic  pass-books  is  $93,501.38.  The 
cost  of  labor  in  handling  the  passes  and  badges  is  not  figured 
in  this  account,  however;  merely  the  cost  of  printing  the 
passes  and  preparing  the  badges. 

ABUSE    OF   PASSES. 

Having  arranged  for  a  careful  record  of  the  circum- 
stances surrounding  the  issuance  of  each  particular  pass, 
it  was  easy  to  ferret  out  cases  where  passes  were  abused 
whenever  these  were  brought  to  our  attention.  Several 
employes  of  the  department  were  employed  continuously 
on  this  work,  and  often  as  many  as  fifty  passes  would  be 
taken  up  in  this  way  in  the  course  of  a  day.  "  Stop  lists," 
bearing  the  numbers  of  all  passes  outstanding  to  which 
the  holders  were  not  clearly  entitled,  were  kept  at  each 
pass-gate,  and  frequently  an  extra  employe  would  be  sta- 
tioned with  the  "  stop  list "  at  each  gate,  and  the  gateman, 
on  examining  each  pass  as  presented,  would  call  out  the 
number  to  the  employe  holding  the  list. 

It  can  not  be  said  that  the  pass  system  was  not  abused. 
No  one  connected  with  the  work  ever  hoped  to  prevent  such 
abuse,  but  the  outcry  frequently  made  during  the  Exposition 
season  against  the  system  in  use  and  the  criticisms  urged 
against  the  efficiency  of  the  department  were  in  most  cases 


DEPA R  TMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  3  7 1 

unmerited.  The  superintendent  endeavored  to  induce  every- 
one to  bring  their  complaints  promptly  to  his  attention,  assur- 
ing them  that  every  effort  would  be  made  to  correct  the  evil 
should  it  be  found  possible  to  do  so,  acting  within  the  depart- 
ment's functions. 

In  July  it  became  apparent  that  there  were  many  passes 
outstanding  to  which  the  holders  were  not  entitled  under  the 
rules,  and  the  Council  of  Administration,  after  consultation 
with  the  superintendent,  ordered  that  all  passes  be  brought 
in  and  countersigned  by  the  superintendent  "Good  after 
August  ist,"  and  no  passes  were  so  countersigned  without  a 
certificate  from  a  department  chief  as  to  the  necessity  for  the 
pass.  By  means  of  this  order  more  than  3,000  passes  were 
canceled,  the  owners  of  which  had  either  left  the  service  and 
were  no  longer  entitled  to  a  pass,  or  had  never  been  entitled 
to  one,  but  had  secured  it  through  lack  of  discipline  in  certain 
departments  or  through  ignorance  of  the  regulations. 

RETURN    CHECKS   DISCONTINUED. 

In  spite  of  every  precaution  it  was  found  that  the  return- 
check  privilege  was  abused  through  collusion  with  employes 
of  the  department.  Also  it  was  found  that  the  employes  de- 
tailed for  distribution  of  return  checks  could  be  dispensed 
with  by  permitting  the  pass-holder  to  return  through  the 
pass-gate  by  presenting  his  book  and  depositing  his  personal 
card.  Each  gate  was  supplied  with  blank  cards  and  pencils 
for  the  use  of  those  who  came  without  personal  cards. 

PHOTOGRAPHING    FOR   PASSES. 

The  work  of  taking  the  photographs  necessary  for  the 
passes  was  done  under  a  contract  made  by  the  Exposition 
Company  with  J.  J.  Gibson  of  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.  The  con- 
tract provided  that  he  was  to  give  three  prints,  if  necessary, 
of  all  pictures  taken  on  an  order  from  this  department,  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  them  in  the  photographic  book,  so 
that  in  case  one  photograph  was  destroyed  or  mutilated  in 
cutting  it  to  fit  the  oval  space  in  the  pass-book,  another  could 
be  substituted.  This  contract  was  made  before  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Department  of  Admissions.  The  idea  in  making 


372 


APPENDIX  "D." 


it  was  that  parties  securing  a  good  likeness  when  their  photo- 
graphs were  taken  for  the  pass-book  would  order  copies  for 
their  own  use.  The  photographs  for  the  use  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Admissions  were  to  be  taken  without  charge,  the 
photographer  expecting  to  reimburse  himself  out  of  such 
orders  as  he  might  secure  from  the  pass-holders.  The  scheme 
was  not  practical ;  the  photographer  had  not  estimated  the 
number  of  photographs  to  be  taken.  When  the  work  of 
issuing  passes  began  in  earnest,  the  number  each  day  was  so 
great  as  to  crowd  him  to  the  utmost  and  render  it  impossible 
to  take  photographs  with  that  care  necessary  to  the  produc- 
tion of  a  pleasing  likeness.  The  work  of  photographing  was 
begun  on  March  21,  1893,  in  the  north  gallery  of  the  Horti- 
cultural Building.  At  the  same  time  the  photographer  began 
the  erection  of  his  own  gallery  just  east  of  the  general  office 
of  the  Photographic  Department  of  the  Exposition.  For  a 
time  only  from  twenty  to  fifty  photographs  were  taken  daily. 
Meanwhile  the  Department  of  Admissions  used  every  effort 
to  hurry  forward  the  applicants  for  passes,  realizing  that  as 
the  ist  of  May  approached  both  the  photographer  and  this 
department  would  be  in  danger  of  becoming  overwhelmed. 
Early  in  April  the  work  crowded  upon  the  photographer  so 
rapidly  that  he  began  to  realize  that  his  bargain  was  a  losing 
one.  He  was  taking  from  300  to  900  photographs  a  day,  and 
could  devote  no  time  to  obtaining  good  likenesses  or  printing 
additional  pictures.  It  was  clear  that  he  would  lose  the  entire 
amount  he  had  invested,  and  he  became  very  much  discour- 
aged. This  was  a  source  of  great  danger  to  the  department, 
as  the  photographic  pass  system  would  have  been  broken 
down  by  his  failure  to  furnish  the  necessary  likenesses.  The 
uneasiness  which  was  felt  on  this  score  was  heightened  by 
the  fact  that  the  photographic  pass  system  had  but  few 
friends,  except  among  those  officers  who  realized  its  impor- 
tance to  the  financial  success  of  the  Exposition.  It  was  daily 
meeting  with  opposition  and  severe  criticism.  One  of  the 
directors  of  the  company,  Adolph  Nathan,  came  to  the  relief 
of  Photographer  Gibson  with  encouragement  and  assurance 
that  the  Exposition  Company  would  allow  him  a  sufficient 
payment  for  work  done  upon  photographic  passes  to  assist 
him  to  make  good  his  loss.  Guards  were  detailed  to  preserre 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  373 

order  and  facilitate  the  photographic  sittings,  and  by  the  ist 
of  May  the  work  of  securing  photographs  and  issuing  passes 
was  well  in  hand.  Mr.  Gibson  continued  in  his  work  until  the 
close  of  the  Exposition,  the  last  photographic  sitting  being 
given  October  24th.  An  allowance  of  10  cents  per  negative 
was  paid  to  him  by  the  company  upon  most  of  the  photo- 
graphs taken  by  him.  He  had  contracted  to  do  this  work 
without  charge.  The  payment,  however,  was  well  merited 
and  just,  and  his  work  was  faithfully  and  satisfactorily  done. 
Photographs  taken  were  marked  with  the  number  of  the 
photographic  order  and  sent  to  this  department;  they  were 
then  assorted  and  immediately  pasted  in  the  photographic 
book  and  the  seal  of  the  Department  of  Admissions  affixed 
to  the  cover  in  such  manner  as  to  include  one  corner  of  the 
photograph,  so  as  to  prevent  the  affixing  of  other  photo- 
graphs for  the  purpose  of  transferring  passes. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Soon  after  I  assumed  charge  of  the  office,  E.  A.  Felder 
was  appointed  assistant  superintendent,  and  on  April  ist 
W.  L.  De  Remer  was  appointed  chief  inspector,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  ticket  sellers  and  ticket  takers,  and  a 
force  of  inspectors.  He  was  also  authorized  to  arrange  for 
a  uniform,  to  be  worn  by  the  men  under  him,  as  well  as  by 
himself,  consisting  of  trousers,  blouse,  and  cap.  Bids  were 
secured  for  this  work,  and  the  contract  was  awarded  to 
E.  A.  Armstrong  &  Co.  of  Chicago. 

Applications  for  positions  had  been  on  file  with  the  treas- 
urer and  auditor  previous  to  the  formation  of  this  depart- 
ment. They  were  all  sent  to  the  superintendent,  and  early 
in  April,  under  orders  from  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and 
Collections,  the  superintendent  took  up  these  applications 
and  addressed  letters  to  those  applicants  residing  outside 
of  the  city,  requesting  them  to  report  for  examination  and 
to  be  ready  for  duty,  if  accepted,  by  April  i$th;  and  to  those 
residing  in  the  city,  requesting  them  to  report  for  examina- 
tion, and  to  be  ready  for  duty,  if  accepted,  by  April  25th. 
Each  man  accepted  was  required  to  give  bond,  the  bureau 
having  previously  arranged  with  the  Fidelity  &  Casualty  Co. 
for  the  bonding  of  the  men  connected  with  this  department 


374 


APPENDIX  "Z>." 


at  a  premium  satisfactory  to  the  bureau,  the  premium  being 
paid  by  the  Exposition  and  not  charged  against  the  men. 
Ticket  sellers  were  required  to  give  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$2,500,  and  ticket  takers  in  the  sum  of  $1,000.  The  men 
were  considered  bonded  as  soon  as  a  notice  was  handed  the 
insurance  company,  they  to  look  up  and  ascertain  the  stand- 
ing and  reliability  of  the  parties  insured  and  to  advise  this 
department  whether  the  bond  held  or  should  be  canceled. 
Each  man  employed  was  immediately  given  an  order  on 
Armstrong  &  Co.  for  a  uniform.  The  uniforms  were  to  be 
ready  by  May  ist,  so  that  the  men  should  appear  for  duty 
on  that  day  fully  equipped,  but  the  failure  of  the  firm  and 
the  delay  in  appointing  a  receiver,  coupled  with  another 
delay  regarding  the  ownership  of  the  cloth  to  be  used,  ren- 
dered it  impossible  to  uniform  the  men  until  later.  The 
uniforms  were  highly  commended  for  their  neat  and  satis- 
factory appearance.  They  were  made  of  an  excellent  quality 
of  dark  blue  cloth,  with  white  braid.  The  plan  adopted  for 
the  payment  for  the  uniforms  by  the  men  was  the  same  as 
that  adopted  in  the  case  of  the  Columbian  Guard.  Each 
man  agreed  to  allow  a  deduction  of  $5  per  month  from  his 
salary.  If  an  employe  remained  with  the  department  for  the 
full  six  months  he  received  back  from  the  Exposition  the 
amount  retained  from  his  salary,  and  was  permitted  to  retain 
his  uniform  as  a  souvenir  of  his  faithful  duty  to  the  Exposi- 
tion Company.  Those  leaving  the  service  by  dismissal  for 
good  reasons  —  reduction  of  force,  resignation  on  account  of 
death  in  family,  or  obtaining  positions  elsewhere  —  were 
refunded  the  amount  deducted  from  their  salaries,  less  an 
amount  fixed  to  be  deducted  for  wear  and  tear,  their  uni- 
forms being  surrendered  to  the  department  for  use  of  others 
employed.  Those  dismissed  from  the  service  for  violation 
of  orders  or  other  good  cause,  not  only  surrendered  their 
uniforms,  but  also  forfeited  the  amounts  deducted  from 
their  salaries. 

In  addition  to  the  uniforms,  a  contract  was  made  with 
Salisbury  &  Co.  for  mackintoshes  for  all  the  men  to  protect 
them  in  stormy  weather.  These  were  treated  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  uniforms  as  to  payment,  and  on  leaving  the 
service  the  men  took  them  as  their  property. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  375 

GENERAL  OFFICE. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  the  organization  con- 
sisted of  the  superintendent,  assistant  superintendent,  chief 
clerk,  and  such  other  clerks  as  were  needed  to  perform  the 
work  of  the  general  office  —  taking  care  of  applications  for 
passes  of  all  kinds,  entering  up  applications,  filling  out 
photographic  orders,  carefully  preparing  each  photographic 
book,  giving  name  of  party  using  same,  his  occupation,  what 
department  of  the  Exposition  he  was  connected  with,  and 
seeing  that  the  number  of  the  pass-book  agreed  with  the 
number  placed  on  the  application.  All  these  details  being 
attended  to  and  the  passes  properly  prepared,  they  were  sent 
to  the  superintendent  for  his  signature.  A  large  amount  of 
correspondence  grew  out  of  the  system,  as  well  as  a  great 
deal  of  miscellaneous  business,  interviews,  etc.  All  of  these 
matters  had  to  be  attended  to  with  promptness,  requiring  the 
closest  application  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  and  of 
the  employes. 

TICKET  DEPARTMENT. 

Separate  from  the  general  office  was  the  general  ticket 
office,  organized  for  the  purpose  of  handling  the  31,000,000 
of  tickets  called  for  in  the  Exposition's  contracts.  At  the 
head  of  this  department  was  a  general  ticket  agent,  and 
under  him  a  corps  of  clerks  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
handling  the  series  of  tickets  for  each  day.  The  series  of 
tickets  to  be  used  on  each  day  had  a  mark  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  series  of  tickets  used  on  any  other  day.  Each 
evening  a  series  was  selected  for  the  following  day  by  the 
superintendent  and  the  general  ticket  agent.  One  ticket  of 
this  series  was  always  retained  and  sent  to  the  chief  inspector 
to  be  bulletined  in  the  assembly  room,  so  that  ticket  takers 
should  know  what  ticket  would  be  honored  on  that  day.  It 
was  the  business  of  the  general  ticket  office  to  place  in  the 
box  belonging  to  each  ticket  seller  a  certain  number  of  tick- 
ets, together  with  a  book  showing  the  commencing  and 
closing  number  of  the  tickets  placed  in  the  box.  Each  day 
the  ticket  sellers  on  starting  out  receipted  to  the  general 
ticket  agent  for  the  tickets  in  the  box.  The  book  placed  in 
the  box  with  the  tickets  had  two  stubs  —  the  left-hand  stub 


376  APPENDIX  "D.n 

to  be  turned  in  to  the  treasurer  with  the  cash,  the  main  body 
to  be  returned  to  the  general  ticket  office  with  the  balance 
of  tickets,  and  the  right-hand  stub  to  be  retained  by  the 
ticket  seller  as  his  receipt  from  both  the  treasurer  and  the 
general  ticket  office.  At  the  close  of  the  day's  business 
the  ticket  seller  deposited  his  money  with  the  treasurer  with 
the  left-hand  stub,  and  obtained  the  treasurer's  receipt  both 
on  the  main  body  of  the  slip  and  on  the  right-hand  stub. 
No  settlement  could  be  had  with  the  general  ticket  office 
until  the  money  had  been  deposited  with  the  treasurer  and 
his  receipt  obtained.  The  ticket  seller  next  settled  with  the 
general  ticket  office,  delivering  up  the  main  body  of  his  slip 
and  taking  a  receipt  for  the  balance  of  tickets  on  hand  upon 
the  right-hand  stub.  A  careful  count  of  tickets  was  made 
in  the  general  ticket  office  before  giving  receipt  to  the  ticket 
seller,  to  ascertain  if  those  sold  and  those  returned  agreed 
with  the  full  number  taken  out  in  the  morning.  If  one 
ticket  seller  relieved  another,  the  successor  receipted  to  his 
predecessor  for  such  tickets  as  he  received,  and  the  general 
ticket  seller  held  the  second  ticket  seller  responsible  for  the 
return  of  the  balance  of  the  tickets  when  he  was  relieved 
from  duty. 

After  all  ticket  sellers  were  relieved  at  close  of  business 
and  reported  at  the  general  ticket  office  with  their  boxes  and 
receipts  from  the  treasurer,  and  the  balance  of  tickets  on 
hand  was  counted,  then  the  general  ticket  agent  made  his 
report  for  the  day  to  the  superintendent.  This  report  gen- 
erally reached  the  superintendent's  office  by  10.30  o'clock  p. 
M.,  in  season  to  enable  us  to  give  the  admissions  to  the  news- 
papers for  publication. 

This  system  worked  admirably  throughout  the  entire 
period  of  the  Exposition.  Being  simple,  yet  comprehensive 
and  entirely  adequate  to  the  necessities  of  the  situation,  it 
worked  with  as  little  friction  on  the  pth  day  of  October,  with 
upward  of  700,000  paid  admissions,  as  it  did  during  the  first 
week  of  May,  when  the  admissions  were  under  20,000. 
When  the  gates  closed  at  night  every  penny  due  the  Expo- 
sition Company  for  the  sale  of  tickets  by  all  its  representa- 
tives was  in  the  possession  of  the  treasurer.  A  complete 
settlement  was  made  and  the  account  closed  within  an  hour. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


377 


TICKET-COUNTING    DEPARTMENT. 

A  third  department  was  the  ticket-counting  room,  in 
which  were  employed  eighteen  young  women  as  ticket 
counters.  Their  duties  were  to  take  the  cans  containing  the 
tickets  used  during  the  day  for  admissions.  In  each  box  was 
the  certificate  of  the  inspector  in  charge  at  the  entrance 
where  it  was  used,  showing  the  commencing  number  of  the 
register  when  the  ticket  taker  went  on  duty  and  the  com- 
mencing number  when  he  was  relieved  by  his  successor,  or 
the  closing  number  of  the  register  at  the  closing  of  the 
Exposition  grounds  for  the  day.  The  certificate  showing 
these  two  numbers  in  the  box,  the  difference  between  them 
should  always  agree  with  the  number  of  tickets  in  the  box. 
This  certificate  was  always  retained  by  the  forewoman,  who 
merely  gave  the  ticket  counter  who  was  to  count  the  tickets 
the  number  of  the  ticket  taker.  If  the  actual  number  of 
tickets  in  the  box  agreed  with  the  figures  rendered  by  the 
inspector  on  this  certificate,  then  the  report  was  correct.  In 
case  it  failed  to  agree,  the  tickets  were  counted  by  another 
person;  frequently  the  mistake  was  found  in  this  way.  After 
the  tickets  in  all  the  cans  had  been  counted  and  found  to 
tally  with  the  register,  the  forewoman  made  her  final  report 
for  publication  as  the  actual  official  attendance  on  that  day. 
This  report  included  the  number  of  paid  admissions  and  the 
number  of  admissions  on  passes.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  ticket  sellers  accounted  to  and  were  checked  by  the  gen- 
eral ticket  office  ;  the  ticket  takers  by  the  ticket-counting 
department. 

The  force  of  ticket  sellers  and  ticket  takers  was  organized 
by  Chief  Inspector  De  Remer.  A  squad  of  ticket  takers  and 
ticket  sellers  was  assigned  to  each  entrance  for  the  purpose 
of  manning  the  ticket  booths  and  turnstiles  thereof.  Each 
squad  was  in  charge  of  an  inspector,  chosen  for  intelligence, 
discretion,  and  reliability.  In  all  cases  of  dispute  or  difficulty 
arising  at  the  gates,  appeal  was  made  to  the  inspector  in 
charge,  who  was  often  called  upon  to  exercise  firmness  and 
good  judgment.  Errors  and  mistakes  frequently  arose,  as 
might  naturally  be  expected  under  the  circumstances,  but 
the  inspectors  acquitted  themselves  creditably  in  nearly 
every  instance.  The  thanks  of  the  superintendent  are  due 


378  APPENDIX  "Z>." 

to  them  in  a  large  measure  for  the  satisfactory  results  ob- 
tained. 

To  protect  the  ticket  sellers  from  being  waylaid  or  from 
any  other  accident,  the  chief  inspector  had  all  reliefs  march 
to  their  posts  and  return  when  relieved  from  duty  in  squads, 
the  ticket  sellers  in  front  of  the  line  guarded  by  ticket  takers 
until  they  reached  the  treasurer's  office,  so  that  if  anyone 
had  attempted  to  rob  a  ticket  seller  he  would  have  been 
promptly  met  by  at  least  a  dozen  men. 

The  general  ticket  office,  after  settlement  with  ticket 
sellers,  made  up  a  final  detailed  report  to  the  auditor,  which 
report  was  signed  by  the  superintendent.  Such  tickets  as 
remained  over  unsold  from  any  one  day's  issue  were  tied  up, 
sealed  and  placed  in  the  vaults  ready  for  examination  by  the 
auditor,  to  prove  that  the  difference  between  actual  sales  of 
any  series  of  tickets  reported  by  the  general  ticket  agent  to 
the  treasurer  and  the  actual  number  remaining  on  hand  in 
the  vault  agreed  with  the  original  invoice  for  that  series. 
Frequently  it  was  found  that  the  balance  remaining  on  hand 
of  two  or  three  series  could  be  placed  on  sale  on  the  same 
day,  thus  saving  expense  to  the  Exposition.  The  balance  of 
a  series  which  had  passed  inspection  could  be  used  for  this 
purpose;  thus,  on  light  days  it  was  possible  to  avoid  the  use 
of  a  new  series.  This  plan  was  adopted  frequently,  and 
finally  when  the  packages  of  each  series  were  reduced  below 
the  quantity  that  could  be  used,  the  balance  remaining, 
together  with  those  tickets  taken  from  the  ticket  takers' 
cans  in  the  counting  room,  were  burned  in  the  furnaces  con- 
nected with  the  green-houses  on  the  grounds.  This  burning 
was  done  usually  twice  a  week,  or  oftener  when  necessary, 
in  the  presence  of  the  superintendent  and  a  representative 
of  the  auditor's  department.  Often  the  number  burned 
exceeded  300,000.  All  tickets  were  burned,  whether  of  the 
cheap  daily  admission  series  or  the  engraved  souvenir  tickets. 
It  had  been  urged  that  the  engraved  tickets  could  be  col- 
lected and  used  over,  but  after  packages  were  once  broken 
and  sales  made  by  ticket  sellers,  the  expense  of  sorting  over 
the  different  series  and  placing  them  in  packages  of  100  was 
found  to  be  too  great.  Moreover,  ticket  sellers,  while  always 
willing  to  accept  packages  as  they  came  from  the  engravers, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  379 

rather  doubted  the  packages  made  up  for  them  in  the  general 
ticket  office,  claiming  the  right  to  count  the  tickets  before 
commencing  their  sales,  which  was  not  feasible  on  account 
of  the  delay  incident  thereto. 

OPENING   DAY. 

The  foregoing  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  organization  of 
the  department,  which  had  to  be  thought  out  or  worked  out 
prior  to  May  i,  1893.  Between  January  ist  and  May  ist  the 
Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections  met  once  a  week,  and 
frequently  of tener,  for  the  consideration  of  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  superintendent  and  for  conference  relative  to 
matters  which  had  to  be  considered.  The  last  meeting  pre- 
vious to  May  ist  was  held  on  Saturday,  the  2gth  of  April, 
when  all  unfinished  business  was  cleared  up,  so  that  the 
department  was  ready  for  the  opening  day. 

The  contractors,  both  for  the  ticket  booths  and  wire  fenc- 
ing, and  for  the  turnstiles  and  entrances,  had  been  delayed 
in  their  work  by  the  continued  snow  and  rain  storms,  so  that 
upon  the  ist  of  May  the  facilities  for  handling  the  people 
were  quite  imperfect.  Indeed,  it  was  nearly  two  weeks  after 
the  ist  of  May  before  the  booths  and  fences  were  ready,  and 
the  turnstiles  were  not  in  a  condition  for  service  until  some 
time  after  the  ist  of  May,  as  has  been  mentioned  before.  On 
opening  day  this  department  assumed  charge  of  all  entrances 
to  the  Exposition  grounds,  placing  its  men  on  duty  at  all  pay, 
pass,  and  wagon  gates,  and  at  all  exit  gates,  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  out  return  checks  to  the  holders  of  photographic 
pass-books,  to  enable  them  to  reenter  the  grounds.  The 
chief  inspector's  report  shows  the  number  on  duty  that  day 
to  be  440  men.  Considering  the  fact  that  most  of  the  men 
were  performing  service  for  the  first  time — handling  money, 
making  change,  and  receiving  tickets  —  and  considering, 
also,  that  the  ticket  booths  and  entrances  were  not  com- 
pleted and  the  turnstiles  not  in  operation,  the  day's  work 
was  very  satisfactorily  performed.  The  numoer  of  paid 
admissions  was  128,965. 

Exaggerated  reports  of  the  number  upon  the  grounds  to 
witness  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  had  been  spread 
abroad,  and  it  was  subsequently  reported  that  large  crowds 


380  APPENDIX  "£>." 

entered  the  grounds  without  tickets,  by  scaling  fences  and 
through  side  gates  on  Midway  Plaisance.  Such  assertions 
were  made  by  persons  having  no  idea  of  crowds.  The 
superintendent  feels  confident  that  a  ticket  or  pass  was 
received  from  nearly  every  one  who  entered  the  grounds, 
and  that  the  actual  loss  to  the  Exposition  in  admissions  was 
very  trifling.  The  men  were  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  worked 
hard  for  the  interest  of  the  Exposition. 

That  some  persons  obtained  admission  by  scaling  fences 
is  quite  likely.  It  was  a  very  simple  matter  to  scale  the 
fences  as  they  were  at  this  time,  unless  persons  attempting  it 
were  detected  in  the  act  by  members  of  the  Columbian  Guard. 
Previous  to  May  ist  attention  had  frequently  been  called  to 
the  condition  of  the  fences.  These  were  of  a  temporary 
rather  than  a  permanent  character.  They  had  been  in  use 
during  the  construction  period,  and  were  not  of  sufficient 
height  to  render  it  at  all  difficult  for  parties  seeking  to 
avoid  payment  of  admission  to  scale  them.  It  is  not  a  diffi- 
cult matter  for  a  person  of  ordinary  activity  to  scale  an  eight- 
foot  fence.  Through  the  earnest  recommendations  of  the 
Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections  a  strip  of  barbed  wire 
was  nailed  along  the  top  of  the  board  fence,  but  the  protection 
afforded  by  this  was  only  slight.  The  department  was  there- 
fore expected  to  rely  upon  the  alertness  of  the  Columbian 
Guard  to  prevent  the  scaling  of  fences.  Unfortunately,  fric- 
tion had  arisen  among  the  members  of  the  guard  over  the 
method  of  admitting  them  to  the  grounds,  and  also  from  the 
fact  that,  while  they  had  been  in  charge  of  the  gates  during 
the  construction  period,  they  were  now  relieved  from  all  con- 
trol over  them.  This  led  to  a  lack  of  cooperation  and,  to 
some  extent,  even  to  a  willingness  to  see  the  Department  of 
Admissions  embarrassed.  This  state  of  feeling  was  unfortu- 
nate and  could  not  readily  be  removed.  The  direct  result  of 
it  was  that  the  department  was  for  a  time  deprived  of  the 
support  and  aid  which  could  have  been  obtained  from  so 
excellent  an  organization  as  the  Columbian  Guard.  Finally, 
after  the  Exposition  had  been  formally  opened,  the  necessity 
for  further  protection  became  apparent  to  everyone.  The 
condition  of  the  fences  was  taken  up  by  the  Council  of  Admin- 
istration, and,  to  provide  immediate  protection,  three  strands 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  381 

of  barbed  wire  were  placed  as  quickly  as  possible  around  the 
entire  Exposition  fences,  adding  two  feet  to  its  height,  and 
keeping  the  fences  almost  intact  from  outside  scaling,  except 
at  one  or  two  places  on  the  Midway,  from  which  occasional 
complaints  reached  the  department.  The  expense  was  nom- 
inal and  the  relief  complete,  although  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  fences  never  presented  a  very  sightly  appearance. 

The  department  was  also  hindered  by  the  lack  of  electric 
light  at  the  gates  and  in  the  ticket  booths.  Ticket  sellers 
were  frequently  compelled  to  resort  to  common  oil  lanterns, 
and  errors  arose  for  which  the  men  could  not  be  held  wholly 
responsible.  Later  this  trouble  was  removed,  and  no  annoy- 
ance was  experienced  therefrom  during  the  last  three 
months  when  the  heavy  crowds  appeared. 

The  exit  gates  became  out  of  order  at  times,  through 
faulty  construction,  so  that  persons  could  enter  the  grounds 
by  means  of  them.  It  was  also  found  possible  to  use  them 
as  ladders  for  the  purpose  of  scaling  the  fence,  but  by  watch- 
fulness and  the  use  of  barbed  wire  this  abuse  was  effectually 
stopped.  At  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  the  bulk  of  the 
crowd  was  leaving  the  grounds,  it  was  found  that  the  exit 
gates  were  not  adequate  to  permit  the  crowd  to  leave 
quickly;  hence,  the  wagon  gates  were  thrown  open  at  this 
hour,  and,  later  on,  when  the  crowds  were  larger  and  began 
to  leave  in  large  numbers  earlier,  these  gates  were  some- 
times opened  at  4  o'clock.  Thus  all  danger  of  congestion  at 
exits  was  avoided. 

EVENTS   SUBSEQUENT    TO    MAY    1ST. 

While  the  period  immediately  preceding  the  opening  of 
the  Exposition  had  been  one  of  great  trial  to  the  Bureau  of 
Admissions  and  Collections  and  to  the  superintendent  in 
endeavoring  to  perfect  all  the  many  details  of  the  work, 
it  was  nothing  in  comparison  to  the  period  immediately 
subsequent  to  the  opening.  In  the  main  the  systems  which 
had  been  adopted  were  found  to  be  capable  of  satisfactory 
working,  but  numberless  trying  details  and  unexpected 
contingencies,  such  as  can  be  imagined  in  connection  with 
so  great  an  undertaking,  arose  at  all  times.  The  crudeness 
of  the  organization  and  the  incompleteness  of  certain  parts 


382  APPENDIX  "£>." 

of  the  Exposition,  necessitating  the  carrying  on  of  construc- 
tion and  installation  work  and  the  admission  of  laborers;  the 
fact  that  a  large  army  of  exhibitors,  concessionaires,  and 
employes  had  not  become  familiar  with  the  systems  in  force, 
etc.,  brought  down  much  criticism  upon  the  department,  and 
friction  occurred  over  matters  too  numerous  and  too  trivial 
to  be  referred  to  at  length. 

The  paid  attendance  was  very  small,  which  was  rather  a 
hindrance  than  an  advantage,  as  the  department  was  pre- 
pared to  deal  with  much  larger  crowds  than  it  encountered, 
and  the  anxiety  as  to  the  financial  results  of  the  Exposition 
led  to  criticisms  that  were  embarrassing,  and  that  sometimes 
could  not  be  satisfactorily  met.  Then,  too,  at  the  outset 
there  had  been  undoubtedly  an  excessive  issue  of  trip  and 
term  passes,  and  where  a  single  instance  was  discovered  by 
anyone  of  a  pass  in  the  hands  of  a  person  not  properly  entitled 
thereto,  it  was  immediately  taken  as  a  proof  of  a  bad  state  of 
affairs,  and  looked  upon  as  an  evidence  of  the  inefficiency  of 
the  department.  It  would  be  useless  to  go  into  the  discour- 
agements which  arose  and  the  difficulties,  apparently  insur- 
mountable, always  confronting  the  department.  Persistent 
effort  triumphed  finally  over  many  of  these,  and  others  dis- 
appeared or  corrected  themselves. 

During  the  month  of  May  the  weather  was  rainy  and  cold, 
and  the  work  of  completing  the  installation  and  finishing  up 
odds  and  ends  of  construction  work  was  being  pushed 
forward ;  the  attendance,  owing  to  both  of  these  facts, 
was  trifling  compared  with  that  of  the  other  months.  In  any 
event  the  attendance  for  the  first  month  could  not  but  be 
slender  compared  with  what  might  be  expected  during  any 
other  month,  for  the  simple  reason  that  visitors  would  natu- 
rally hold  off  until  later,  feeling  that  the  Exposition  could  be 
seen  to  greater  advantage  at  a  later  time,  when  all  parts  were 
complete  and  in  harmonious  working  order. 

CHILDREN'S  TICKETS. 

On  May  226.  the  Exposition  management  decided  to  charge 
a  half -fare  for  children,  and  a  children's  ticket  was  accord- 
ingly printed  and  sold  for  25  cents  to  children  over  six  and 
under  twelve  years,  those  under  six  being  admitted  free. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  383 

Children  were  admitted  on  these  tickets  through  a  turnstile 
at  each  entrance  set  apart  for  children,  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  this  form  of  admission  ticket  from  being  mixed  with 
the  full-fare  ticket  and  confusing  the  statistics.  The  ticket 
takers  in  charge  of  children's  turnstiles  exercised  such  dis- 
cretion as  railroad  conductors  in  collecting  half  fare.  Doubts 
as  to  the  age  of  a  child  claiming  admission  were  resolved  in 
favor  of  the  applicant,  and  only  such  persons  were  turned 
back  at  these  gates  as  were  clearly  and  unmistakably  above 
the  age  of  twelve  years.  This  admission  rate  for  children 
continued  until  October  loth,  when  an  order  was  made  for 
the  admission  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  six  and  eighteen 
years,  inclusive,  during  the  days  from  October  loth  to  2ist, 
inclusive,  for  10  cents.  This  was  done  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  the  school  children  of  the  city  the  educational  advan- 
tage of  the  Exposition  to  the  fullest  extent.  The  schools 
were  closed  during  this  week,  in  order  that  the  children  might 
avail  themselves  of  the  privilege,  and  every  effort  was  made  to 
bring  as  many  of  them  as  possible  to  the  grounds  on  each  day 
of  the  week.  Especial  mention  should  be  made  of  the  efforts 
of  Director  Alexander  H.  Revell,  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  and  Superintendent  of  Schools  A.  G.  Lane,  who, 
with  others,  exerted  themselves  to  the  end  that  the  benefits 
of  this  low  fare  might  be  widely  distributed.  The  number  of 
school  children  who  attended  during  the  week  from  October 
1 6th  to  2ist  was  310,444.  After  the  22d  of  October  the  2 5 -cent 
fare  was  resumed.  The  attendance  of  so  many  children 
brought  with  it  a  large  number  of  adults,  who  came  with  the 
children  as  parents  or  guardians,  thus,  it  is  believed,  actually 
effecting  a  financial  gain  to  the  Exposition  rather  than  a  loss 
from  this  heavy  reduction  of  price. 

By  the  middle  of  June  the  attendance,  which  had  been 
steadily  gaining  since  the  first  week  of  the  Exposition,  had 
grown  to  large  proportions,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
statistics  accompanying  this  report.  The  improvement  in 
the  efficiency  and  discipline  of  the  department  had  more  than 
kept  pace  with  the  improvement  in  the  receipts.  Work  was 
simplified  and  matters  of  detail  adjusted  themselves  on  a 
satisfactory  basis. 

With  a  view  of  concentrating  the  administration  in  all 


384  APPENDIX  "D." 

parts  of  the  Exposition,  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Col- 
lections was  abolished  by  vote  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  on  June  2ist,  after  which 
date  the  superintendent  of  Admissions  received  his  instruc- 
tions direct  from  the  Council  of  Administration.  The  change 
was,  however,  more  apparent  than  real,  as  stated  in  the  first 
part  of  this  report,  the  president  of  the  Exposition  being  a 
member  of  the  bureau  and  at  the  same  time  chairman  of  the 
Council  of  Administration,  and  every  effort  being  made  to 
keep  the  work  of  the  bureau  and  the  council  in  perfect  har- 
mony. Still,  the  move  was  in  the  right  direction  and  in  the 
interest  of  simplicity  of  organization. 

The  wagon  gates  were  used  for  the  admission  of  supplies 
and  the  removal  of  waste  material,  debris,  etc.,  during  the 
night.  Wheeled  vehicles  other  than  the  roller  chairs  were 
not  allowed  on  the  grounds  during  the  day,  and  no  vehicles 
were  admitted  through  these  gates  during  the  day  except 
upon  written  permits  from  the  president  of  the  Exposition, 
the  president  of  the  Commission,  or  director-general.  Car- 
riages were  sometimes  admitted  bearing  distinguished  guests, 
such  as  the  Governor  and  his  staff  upon  a  State  day,  the 
Duke  of  Veragua,  the  Infanta  Eulalia,  etc. 

The  original  order  for  the  opening  of  turnstiles  for  the 
admission  of  visitors  directed  that  they  be  opened  at  8  o'clock 
morning  and  closed  at  7  o'clock  evening,  discretion  being 
given  to  the  Council  .of  Administration  by  the  Board  of 
Directors  to  open  them  for  evenings  whenever  the  council 
deemed  it  advisable.  It  was  found  necessary,  however,  to 
open  the  gates  earlier  than  8  o'clock,  as  visitors  began  to 
gather  before  that  time  and  wait  for  the  gates  to  open. 
They  were  accordingly  opened  at  7.30  o'clock  as  soon  as  the 
attendance  increased  to  considerable  proportions.  Com- 
mencing June  2ist,  the  grounds  were  opened  every  even- 
ing until  ii  o'clock  during  the  balance  of  the  Exposition 
season. 

The  efficiency  of  the  department  was  tested  on  the  4th  of 
July  by  an  attendance  of  283,273  visitors.  The  grounds 
seemed  well  filled  and  in  places  the  crowds  reached  large 
proportions.  Later  we  had  many  days  upon  which  the  attend- 
ance exceeded  that  of  the  4th  of  July.  The  attendance  on 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  385 

this  day  was  drawn  from  Chicago  and  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity, as  visitors  from  a  distance  had  not  yet  begun  to  arrive  in 
such  numbers  as  later  in  the  season.  It  was  a  most  success- 
ful day  for  the  Department  of  Admissions,  the  large  attend- 
ance and  heavy  receipts  being  handled  without  any  trouble, 
and  a  careful  observation  and  study  of  the  crowds  and  the 
facilities  for  handling  them,  both  for  admission  and  exit,  led 
to  improvements  conducive  to  both  the  efficiency  and  the 
safety  of  our  arrangements.  The  instance  referred  to  in  the 
early  part  of  this  report  of  the  change  in  the  exits  and 
entrances  at  the  terminal  station  of  the  South  Side  Elevated 
Railroad  is  a  case  in  point.  It  was  found  necessary  on  this 
and  subsequent  days  to  assign  employes  to  extra  duty,  that 
is,  for  longer  hours  than  originally  contemplated,  it  being 
deemed  wiser  to  do  this  than  to  increase  the  force,  and  also  to 
be  m  the  interest  of  efficiency  that  the  extra  service  should 
be  recognized.  Extra  compensation  was  allowed  for  each 
hour  of  additional  service. 

The  attendance  fell  off  during  July,  after  the  Fourth, 
owing  principally  to  the  heat.  A  certain  class  of  visitors 
had  been  received  during  June,  consisting  of  children, 
youths,  and  teachers  whose  schools  had  just  closed,  and  per- 
sons who  had  left  their  homes  bound  for  places  of  summer 
resort.  These  came  and  went,  and  the  local  attendance  from 
the  city  and  vicinity  also  decreased  to  some  extent.  After 
the  first  week  in  August  a  decided  change  occurred.  The 
advertising  throughout  the  country  effected  by  the  return  of 
earlier  visitors  to  their  homes,  and  by  the  newspaper  reports 
and  pictorial  illustrations  of  the  Exposition,  bore  fruit  in  the 
increased  attendance  from  a  distance.  Certain  features  of 
the  Exposition  had  begun  to  be  talked  of  and  known  in 
every  part  of  the  United  States  and,  to  a  certain  extent, 
abroad.  The  attendance  increased  rapidly  day  after  day 
and  week  after  week  through  August  and  September.  Spe- 
cial days,  assigned  to  different  nations  or  different  States  of 
the  Union,  led  to  celebrations,  fetes,  and  observances  within 
the  grounds,  and  contributed  largely  to  swell  the  attendance. 
Finally,  it  was  decided  to  observe  October  pth,  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Chicago  fire,  as  Chicago  day.  A  special  ticket 
was  printed  bearing  upon  its  back  a  picture  of  Fort  Dear- 

25 


386  APPENDIX  ••/?." 

born  and  the  site  of  Chicago.  This  ticket  had  a  coupon 
which  was  detached  and  deposited  in  the  ticket  can,  the  body 
of  the  ticket  being  retained  by  the  visitor  as  a  souvenir. 
Great  enthusiasm  was  aroused  over  this  celebration;  tickets 
were  placed  on  sale  in  large  quantities  several  days  in 
advance;  rumors  of  an  enormous  attendance  were  rife,  and 
every  possible  arrangement  was  made  for  the  reception  of 
the  crowd.  Ticket  sellers  and  ticket  takers  went  to  their 
posts  at  6.30  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  found  the  crowds 
around  their  booths  already  waiting  for  them.  Over  700,000 
Chicago  day  tickets  were  rapidly  disposed  of.  No  conges- 
tion occurred  at  any  gate,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
Cottage  Grove  Avenue  entrance,  where  a  temporary  conges- 
tion occurred  until  relief  was  obtained  from  the  city  Police 
Department  to  preserve  order  and  compel  the  crowd  to  pass 
into  the  grounds  properly  in  line.  Early  in  the  day  ticket 
sellers  began  to  send  in  for  more  tickets,  and  messengers 
were  kept  busy  taking  out  tickets  to  supply  the  demand. 
The  entire  edition  of  Chicago  day  tickets  was  finally  dis- 
posed of,  and  then  it  was  necessary  to  place  regular  day  tick- 
ets on  sale. 

It  had  been  planned  that  a  portion  of  ticket  sellers  at 
each  gate  should  close  their  windows  before  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  long  enough  to  count  their  money  and  turn  it 
in  to  the  treasurer's  office,  but  the  crowd  grew  heavier  and 
the  plan  was  abandoned.  Patrol  wagons  in  charge  of  Colum- 
bian Guards,  together  with  representatives  of  the  treasurer's 
office,  called  at  the  main  ticket  booths  and  brought  in  all  the 
money  collected  up  to  that  time,  counting  each  box  or  bag 
in  the  interest  of  the  ticket  seller  whose  name  appeared 
upon  it.  Even  the  Columbian  roller  chairs  were  impressed 
into  the  service  to  assist  in  bringing  the  large  bags  of  silver 
to  the  treasurer's  office.  It  was  2  o'clock  Tuesday  morn- 
ing before  the  last  ticket  seller  settled  and  the  final  report 
of  716,881  paid  admissions  was  given  to  the  press.  It  was  a 
most  glorious  day  in  every  respect,  the  weather  being  per- 
fect and  the  enormous  receipts  being  handled  without 
hitch  or  any  bad  result.  For  several  days  after  this  the 
attendance  was  over  300,000  each  day,  and  the  men,  although 
thoroughly  exhausted  with  their  heavy  labors,  continued  to 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  387 

handle  the  crowds  as  though  nothing  unusual  had  happened 
during  the  week. 

As  upon  July  4th  and  other  great  days,  exaggerated  reports 
of  the  scaling  of  fences,  etc.,  appeared,  but  the  fences  were  by 
this  time  so  well  protected  with  barbed  wire  and  the  Colum- 
bian Guards  so  vigilant  that  there  was  little  chance  for  suc- 
cessful fence  climbing.  Many  complaints  were  heard  during 
this  day  and  others  when  the  attendance  was  enormous  of 
failure  to  receive  correct  change  from  ticket  sellers.  These 
were  considered  by  the  superintendent  or  chief  inspector 
carefully,  and  usually  the  fault  was  found  to  rest  with  the 
purchaser.  In  many  cases  the  purchaser  would  leave  his 
change  at  the  window  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  and 
the  money  would  be  found  waiting  for  him  in  the  superin- 
tendent's or  chief  inspector's  office.  Special  watch  was  kept 
for  cases  of  incorrect  changing  of  money  as  a  clew  to  any 
dishonesty  which  might  exist  in  the  force,  and  special  watch 
was  also  kept  for  cases  of  incivility  on  the  part  of  employes. 
Such  cases  were  severely  reprimanded  the  first  time,  and  a 
repetition  caused  dismissal. 

Upon  the  celebration  of  State  days  the  Governor  of  the 
State  celebrating,  with  his  staff  and,  frequently,  military  bands 
and  full  regiments,  marched  into  the  grounds  free  through 
the  wagon  gates.  Occasionally  W.  F.  Cody's  Wild  West  Show 
entered  and  marched  through  the  grounds  to  take  part  in  the 
ceremonies  of  certain  States.  After  the  Cold  Storage  Ware- 
house fire  the  firemen  of  the  city  Fire  Department  were 
admitted  free  when  in  uniform  through  the  wagon  gates  by 
order  of  the  president  of  the  Exposition.  All  these  free 
admissions  did  not  appear  in  the  reports,  as  such  persons 
did  not  pass  through  turnstiles  and  therefore  were  not  reg- 
istered. 

Ticket  sellers  on  duty  at  7.30  o'clock  in  the  morning  were 
relieved  at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  latter  hour 
their  returns  to  the  treasurer  and  general  ticket  office  were 
made.  Unless  there  was  to  be  an  exhibition  in  the  evening 
or  a  display  of  fireworks  which  had  been  well  advertised,  this 
2  o'clock  return  generally  averaged  85  per  cent  of  the  entire 
admission;  the  total  attendance  could  be  predicted  from  it 
with  great  accuracy.  What  is  more  remarkable,  the  admis- 


388  APPENDIX  "D." 

sions  through  the  Sixty-fourth  Street  entrance  between  the 
hours  of  7  A.  M.  and  1 1  A.M.  were  almost  unvaryingly  about 
one-fifth  of  the  entire  2  o'clock  return,  so  that  any  estimate 
of  the  total  attendance  based  upon  the  admissions  at  Sixty- 
fourth  Street  entrance  from  7  to  n  o'clock  A.  M.  could  be 
depended  upon,  and  the  afternoon  newspapers  gave  figures 
based  upon  the  admissions  at  Sixty-fourth  Street  as  the 
attendance  up  to  2  o'clock. 

Attached  to  this  report  will  be  found  samples  of  all 
tickets  issued  from  this  department  during  the  Exposition 
period;  also  all  forms  of  application  for  passes  required  by 
foreign  exhibitors,  exhibitors'  employes,  and  concessionaires; 
also  tables  showing  the  paid  attendance  and  free  admissions 
for  each  day  of  the  Exposition;  also  tables  of  the  weekly  and 
monthly  attendance,  with  notes  of  special  days,  weather 
reports,  and  other  information  of  interest.  (On  file  Field 
Columbian  Museum.) 

The  total  free  admissions  of  all  kinds  from  May  ist  to 
October  soth,  inclusive,  was  6,059,380,  which  includes  admis- 
sion upon  complimentary  cards,  photographic  passes,  press 
passes,  trip  passes,  and  workmen's  tickets,  also  return  checks. 
The  latter  should  not  figure  in  the  total  of  free  admissions,  as 
the  parties  using  them  had  already  entered  the  grounds  once 
on  their  passes  and  had  left  the  grounds  to  return  again  later 
in  the  day.  The  following  is  a  more  correct  statement : 

Total  free  admissions  of  all  kinds 6, 059, 380 

Less  return  checks 1,703,448 


Actual  free  admissions 4,355,932 

The  total  paid  admissions  for  the  entire  period  of  the 
Exposition  was  21,480,141. 

The  final  settlement  of  the  department  with  the  auditor 
and  the  treasurer  shows  a  complete  accounting  for  all  tickets 
sold,  and  the  number  of  tickets  remaining  on  hand  agrees 
with  the  original  invoices.  The  Department  of  Admissions 
has  handled  during  the  Exposition  period  $10,336,065.75,  and 
with  the  large  number  of  men  employed  for  temporary  ser- 
vice in  various  positions,  such  as  ticket  accountants,  ticket 
counters,  ticket  sellers,  and  ticket  takers,  the  record  of  the 
department  is  a  most  excellent  one.  No  claim  for  any  short- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  389 

age  of  money  or  tickets  was  ever  reported  from  the  auditor 
or  treasurer,  and  no  such  shortage  ever  occurred.  The  dis- 
cipline, intelligence,  and  devotion  to  duty  of  the  employes  of 
the  department  was  beyond  all  praise. 

In  closing  this  report  I  must  thank  the  members  of  the 
Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections,  Edward  B.  Butler 
(chairman),  Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  William  K.  Ackerman,  and 
Anthony  F.  Seeberger,  and  the  members  of  the  Council  of 
Administration,  George  V.  Massey,  J.  W.  St.  Clair,  and 
Charles  H.  Schwab,  and  more  especially  yourself,  Mr. 
President,  in  your  capacity  as  a  member  of  the  Bureau  of 
Admissions  and  Collections,  as  chairman  of  the  Council  of 
Administration,  and  as  president  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  for  your  patient 
attention  to  the  wants  of  my  department,  the  support  you 
bestowed  upon  me  in  the  endeavor  to  raise  it  to  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency,  and  for  your  counsel,  advice,  and  assist- 
ance in  every  emergency. 

With  great  respect, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

HORACE  TUCKER, 

Superintendent  Department  of  Admissions^ 
World's  Columbian  Exposition. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  MAY  17,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 21,553 

"      undelivered 5,046 

canceled 767 

5,813 


«      "        ««          "       delivered 15,740 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 9,580 

"  ••      ™      undelivered 3,683 

"  •«          "      canceled 491 

4,174 

"      delivered 5,406 

Total  in  use  to  date..,    22,146 


390  APPENDIX  "JP." 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  JUNE  6,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 26,919 

"      ««        •«          ««       undelivered 3,889 

"      "        "          "       canceled 1,886 

5,775 


"      "        "         "       delivered 21,144 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 13,807 

««  -          "      undelivered 3,613 

"      canceled 2,501 

6,114 


"      delivered 7,693 

Total  in  use  to  date 28,837 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  JUNE  20,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 28, 728 

"      "        "          '*       undelivered 3,135 

"      "        "          "       canceled 2,329 

5,464 

"      "        "          "       delivered 23,264 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 18,437 

undelivered 3,556 

"  "          "      canceled 3,109 

6,665 


"      delivered 11,772 

Total  passes  in  use 35,036 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  JULY  4,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 29,981 

undelivered 2,635 

canceled 3,301 

5,936 

"       delivered 24,045 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 23,587 

"  "          **      undelivered 4,337 

"      canceled 5,662 


'•      delivered 13,588 

Total  number  in  use 37,633 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


391 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  JULY  n,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 30,415 

undelivered 2,236 

canceled 3,847 

6,083 


delivered 24,332 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up- 25,649 

undelivered 4,064 

"      canceled 7,426 

"      (for  July)  not  renewed 1,255 

12,745 

•'      delivered 12,904 

Total  number  in  use 37,236 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  JULY  25,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 30,779 

"       undelivered 719 

canceled 5,966 

6,685 

delivered 24,094 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 28,587 

"      undelivered 2,577 

canceled 9,394 

"  "          "      not  renewed 1,216 

13,187 

delivered 15,400 

Total  number  in  use -. 39,494 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  AUGUST  8,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 30,925 

"      "        "          "       undelivered 559 

"      "        "          "       canceled 6,834 

"      "        "          "       unapproved 6,778 

14,171 


in  use 16,754 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 31,879 

"  "          "      undelivered 4,114 

"      canceled 11,939 

August  coupons  undelivered _ 4,895 

20,948 

inuse 10,931 

Total  number  in  use 27,685 


392 


APPENDIX 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  AUGUST  22,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 30,996 

«*      "        "          "       undelivered.. 602 

canceled 7,553 

unapproved 4,923 

13,078 


"      "        <<          "       in  use 17,918 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 34,629 

"    "       "          "      undelivered 2,597 

canceled 13,959 

August  coupons  not  delivered 3,843 

20,399 

in  use..,  14,230 


Total  number  in  use 32,148 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  SEPTEMBER  12, 1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 31 ,214 

"     undelivered 601 

"     canceled 7,593 

"     unapproved 5,036 

13,230 


"      "        "  ••     inuse 17,984 

Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 39,780 

"    *       "          "      undelivered 2,844 

"      canceled 17,262 

September  coupons  not  delivered 3, 788 

23,894 

"  "       in  use 15,886 

Total  number  in  use 38,870 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  OCTOBER  10,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 37 ,336 

undelivered 2,100 

"      "        "          "       canceled 7,593 

*'      "        "          *'       unapproved 6,025 

15,718 


in  use..          21,618 


Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 40 ,000 

"      undelivered 1,391 

canceled 20,585 

October  coupons  undelivered 4,061 

26,577 


inuse 13,423 


Total  number  in  use 35,041 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


393 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASS  STATEMENT,  UP  TO  AND  INCLUDING  OCTOBER  30,  1893. 

Full  term  photo  passes  written  up 39,898 

undelivered 1,763 

"      canceled 7,593 

"      "        "  "     unapproved 7,266 

16,622 


in  use. 


23,276 


Monthly  photo  passes  written  up 40,000 

"          "      undelivered 1,305 

canceled 22,060 

October  coupons  not  issued 4,535 

27,900 

in  use 13,100 

Total  number  in  use 36,376 

STATEMENT  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASSES. 

Full  term  passes  issued 39,885 

Monthly  passes  issued _  40,000 

Total  number  passes  issued. ..  _  79,885 


Account. 


Monthly 


Total. 


Dept.  Agriculture,  Live  Stock,  and  Forestry 

Horticulture 

Fish  and  Fisheries 

Mines  and  Mining 

Machinery 

Transportation  Exhibits 

Manufactures,  including  Shoe  and  Leather 

Electricity 

Fine  Arts 

Liberal  Arts 

Ethnology. 

Publicity  and  Promotion . 

Foreign  Affairs 

Womans' 

State  Boards 

Music 

Public  Comfort 

Installation 

Awards 

Children's  Building... 

D  rector-general's  office  force 

Treasury  Department 

Executive  Department 

Auditing  Department 

Admission  Department 

Law  Department 

Collection  Department ... 


1,349 

424 

122 

396 

1,115 

1,193 

1,961 

638 

736 

1,351 

92 

3,650 

4,741 

400 

1,576 

313 

31 

9 

49 

68 

19 

28 

67 

70 

724 

7 

203 


564 

179 

34 

113 

599 

550 

447 

225 

2 

625 
43 
37 

'l02 
663 

40 
6 

14 
168 

11 


1 

15 
28 
66 

1 
259 


1,913 

603 

156 

509 

1,714 

1,743 

2,408 

863 

738 

1,976 

135 

3,687 

6,679 

502 

2,239 

353 

37 

23 

217 

79 

19 

29 

82 

98 

790 

8 

462 


Carried  forward 21,332 


6,730     28,062 


394 


APPENDIX  "D. 


Account. 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

Brought  forward        _  

21,332 

6,730 

28,062 

\^orld's  Congress  Auxiliary 

11 

11 

National  Commission,  including  Lady  Managers 

532 

48 

580 

550 

1 

551 

Concessionaires                       ....         .  .  .  ........ 

12,613 

23,860 

36,473 

Department  of  Works             

3,422 

9,059 

12,481 

United  States  Government  Exhibit             .... 

1,031 

235 

1,266 

«  «           «  *       customs                     

285 

43 

328 

"           '  '       internal  revenue                 .  -  - 

6 

5 

11 

World's  Fair  postoffice 

103 

19 

122 

39,885 

40,000 

79,885 

STATEMENT  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASSES  ISSUED  TO  OFFICERS  AND  EMPLOYES 
OF  EXPOSITION  AND  COMMISSION. 

Full  term  passes  issued.. 5,211 

Monthly  passes  issued. 8.918 

Total  number  passes  issued 14,129 


Account. 


Full 


Total. 


Dept.  Agriculture,  Live  Stock,  and  Forestry 

Horticulture 

Fish  and  Fisheries 

Mines  and  Mining _ 

Machinery 

Transportation  Exhibits. 

Manufactures,  including  Shoe  and  Leather 

Electricity 

Fine  Arts 

Liberal  Arts _.' 

Ethnology 

Publicity  and  Promotion.. 

Foreign  Affairs . . 

Music 

Public  Comfort 

Installation 

Awards 

Children's 

Director-general's  office  force. _  . ..... 

Treasury  Department 

Executive  Department 

Auditing  Department 

Admission  Department 

Law  Department 

Collection 

World's  Congress  Auxiliary 

National  Commission,  including  Lady  Managers 
and  employes 

Department  of  Works 


66 
31 
11 
45 
36 
27 
45 
16 
40 
23 
49 
78 
15 

313 
31 
9 
49 
68 
19 
28 
67 
70 

724 
7 

203 
11 

532 
2,598 

5,211 


30 

57 

1 

11 


40 

6 

14 

168 

11 


1 

15 
28 
66 

1 
259 


48 
8,149 

8,918 


96 
88 
12 
56 
36 
27 
47 
16 
42 
30 
51 
78 
15 

353 
37 
23 

217 
79 
19 
29 


790 
8 

462 
11 

580 
10,747 

14,129 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


395 


STATEMENT  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASSES  ISSUED  TO  OTHER  THAN  OFFICERS 
AND  EMPLOYES  OF  EXPOSITION  AND  COMMISSION,  INCLUDING  EXHIB- 
ITORS, ATTENDANTS,  CONCESSIONAIRES,  ETC. 


Me 

mthly  passes  issued  _  .  

31,082 
65,756 

Total  number  passes  issued  __     .  .     ...  

Account 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

D€ 

De 

Co 
Sfa 

Co 
Co 
Go 
Ur 

w< 

pt.  Agriculture,  Live  Stock,  and  Forestry  — 
exhibitors  and  attendants 

1,283 
393 
111 
351 
1,079 
1,166 
1,916 
622 
696 
1,328 
43 
3,572 
4,726 
400 
12,613 
1,576 
824 
550 
1,031 
291 
103 

534 
122 
33 
102 
599 
550 
445 
225 

1,817 
515 
144 
453 
1,678 
1,716 
2,361 
847 
696 
1,946 
84 
3,609 
6,664 
502 
36,473 
2,239 
1,734 
551 
1,266 
339 
122 

pt.  Horticulture  —  exhibitors  and  attendants 
Fish  and  Fisheries, 
Mines  and  Mining, 
Machinery', 
Transp'n  Exhibits, 
Manufactures, 
Electricity, 
Fine  Arts, 
Liberal  Arts, 
Ethnology, 
Publicity  and  Promotion  —  press.  

618 
41 
37 
1,938 
102 
23,860 
663 
910 
1 
235 
48 
19 

Foreign  Affairs  —  exhibitors  and  attendants 
Womans'   .  .     

ncessionaires  and  employes  :  

ite  boards  and  employes  . 

ntraotors  and  employes 

mplimentary 

vernment  —  exhibitors'  attendants.  m 

lited  States  customs  

grid's  Fair  postoffice  —  exhibitors  and  attendants 
Totals  

34,674 

31,082 

65,756 

DETAILED  STATEMENT  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASSES  ISSUED  TO  DEPARTMENT 

OF  WORKS. 

Full  term  passes  issued 3,422 

Monthly  passes  issued 9,059 

Total  number  passes  issued 12,481 


Account. 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

Transportation                                     ...  .  

431 

115 

546 

80 

655 

735 

Medical      

96 

35 

131 

Photography             .          .  .......  

153 

53 

206 

9 

3 

12 

Storekeeping                                                        .... 

4 

5 

9 

P.fl-rrifio1  forward 

773 

866 

1.639 

396 


APPENDIX 


Account. 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

Brought  forward. 

773 

866 

1  639 

Surveys  and  grades 

42 

63 

105 

Water  supply,  sewers,  and  fire  protection  

90 

34 

124 

Architectural                  .        

68 

8 

76 

Decoration                                         ____.___.._   . 

33 

47 

80 

Electrical 

164 

328 

492 

Engineering  construction                           .... 

27 

29 

56 

Landscape                                                    - 

25 

32 

57 

17 

17 

Guards,  secret  service,  guides,  and  messengers.. 
Janitors 

969 
163 

4,173 
2  541 

5,142 
2,704 

Fire                                           

167 

167 

Director  of  works  —  office  force  and  staff 

60 

28 

88 

Contractors 

824 

910 

1,734 

Totals.. 

3,422 

9,059 

12,481 

REPORT  OF  PASSES  ISSUED  TO  FOREIGN  COMMISSIONS. 

Full  term  passes 4, 741 

Monthly  passes 1,938 

Total  number  passes  issued. 6,679 


Commission. 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

1  Argentine    .  .  

12 

8 

20 

2  Austrian 

331 

176 

507 

3  British  Guiana                    .                 ..        

1 

\ 

4  British  India  

3 

3 

6 

5  British 

638 

374 

1  012 

6  Belgian 

200 

38 

238 

7  Brazilian    

24 

47 

71 

8  Bolivia 

14 

1 

15 

9  Bulgarian 

11 

3 

14 

10  Cape  of  Good  Hope  

19 

19 

11  Canadian 

322 

306 

628 

12  Chinese 

9 

9 

13  Chilean  

8 

1 

9 

14  Ceylon  

16 

20 

36 

15  Corea 

1 

1 

16  Costa  Rica  

8 

4 

12 

17  Cuba  

1 

1 

18  Curaco 

3 

3 

19  Columbian  Pavilion.. 

1 

2 

3 

20  Danish  

52 

19 

71 

21  Denmark  

2 

1 

3 

22  East  Indian 

4 

4 

23  Ecuador  

3 

1 

4 

24  French  

712 

238 

950 

25  German  .. 

1,275 

316 

1,591 

Carried  forward  

3,670 

1,558 

5,228 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 


397 


Commission. 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

Brought  forward  

3  670 

1  558 

5  228 

26  Guatemala        ..  ... 

2 

18 

27  Hatian  

5 

2 

7 

28  Honduras 

3 

29  Italian  

237 

90 

327 

30  Jamaica 

8 

4 

10 

31  Japan  _ 

204 

8 

212 

32  Johore  

12 

6 

18 

33  Korea         

2 

2 

4 

34  Liberian  _  . 

4 

4 

35  Madagascar 

2 

2 

36  Mexican                     ...                .     . 

16 

30 

46 

37  Monaco 

8 

4 

12 

38  Netherlands  ..                          

38 

7 

45 

39  New  South  Wales 

31 

11 

42 

40  Norwegian 

38 

7 

45 

41  Ottoman  

7 

1 

8 

42  Orange  Free  State 

1 

1 

2 

43  Paraguay  T  ....  

8 

8 

44  Peru 

1 

1 

45  Persian           .     .  

21 

14 

35 

46  Portuguese 

2 

1 

3 

47  Russia                              .                

176 

102 

278 

48  Scandinavian 

1 

1 

49  Siamese                ... 

6 

2 

8 

50  Swedish    :  

66 

15 

81 

51  Spanish 

68 

24 

92 

52  Syrian                     

2 

2 

53  Switzerland 

83 

27 

110 

54  Trinidad 

3 

2 

5 

55  Turkey 

4 

4 

56  Uruguay 

8 

4 

12 

57  Venezuela                 .  

4 

2 

6 

Totals  --. 

4,741 

1,938 

6,679 

RECAPITULATION  OF  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PASSES  ISSUED. 

Full  term  passes  issued - 39,885 

Monthly  passes  issued 40,000 

Total  number  passes  issued. 79,885 


Issued  to  — 

Full 
Term. 

Monthly 

Total. 

Officers  and  employes  Exposition  and  Commission 
Press                                                

5,211 
3,572 

8,918 
37 

14,129 
3,609 

Concessionaires  and  employes                 

12,613 

23,860 

36,473 

State  boards  and  employes 

1,576 

663 

2,239 

Constructions  and  employes  Department  Works. 
Complimentary                               

824 
550 

910 
1 

1,734 
551 

U.  S.  customs  and  internal  revenue  employes... 
Exhibitors  and  employes                    .  

291 

15,248 

48 
5,563 

339 

20,811 

Totals  

39,885 

40,000 

79,885 

398 


APPENDIX  "Z>." 
STATEMENT  OF  COMPLIMENTARY  CARDS. 


Full  term  cards  issued 2,117 

Short  term  cards  issued 15,093 

Total  number  cards  issued..  17,210 


Full 


Term.    Term. 


Short 


Total. 


Requested  by  George  R.  Davis,  director-general.. 
"  H.  N.  Higinbotham,  president 

"          "    T.  W.  Palmer,  pres't  Commission.. 

*  *  * '  John  Boyd  Thacher,  chairman 

Authorized  by  Bureau  Admissions  and  Collections 


675 
126 
403 
2 
911 


14,853 

166 

73 


15,528 

292 

476 

2 

912 


2,117 


15,093 


17,210 


Fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifteen  of  the  limited  cards 
charged  to  the  director-general  were  issued  on  account  of  the  press. 

STATEMENT  OF  PASSES  FOR  JUDGES  OF  AWARDS. 
Total  number  issued 748 

All  issued  on  request  of  John  Boyd  Thacher,  chairman  of  Com- 
mittee on  Awards. 

STATEMENT  OF  SPECIAL  PASSES  ISSUED. 
Total  number  issued 8,345 

Department  Agriculture 26 

Horticulture 9 

Livestock 1,623 

Mines  and  Mining 

Machinery 4 

Transportation  Exhibits 38 

Manufactures 2 

Fine  Arts 10 

Liberal  Arts a 

Publicity  and  Promotion 1,600 

Foreign  Affairs 13 

Music 3,174 

Awards 440 

State  Boards 69 

Womans' 40 

Children's 6 

Lady  Managers' 10 

Auditing  19 

Treasury 1 

Admissions .. 2 

Works 16 

Collections 8 

Concessions 109 

United  States  Government  Exhibit 375 

United  States  Customs 5 

City  Council,  Philadelphia 37 

Chicago  police _ . 62 

Authorized  by  H.  N.  Higinbotham,  president 11 

Military  companies 627 

Total 8,345 

These  passes  were  all  used  for  short  terms. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS.  399 

STATEMENT  OF  WORKMEN'S  TRIP  TICKETS. 

Number  issued 84,741 

"        returned  unused __ 12,281 

Total  number  tickets  used 72,460 

F.  Tickets  good  only  at  Sixty-second  Street  entrance : 

Number  issued 52,071 

"        returned  unused 5,902 

used 46,169 

E.  Tickets  good  only  at  West  Midway  entrance : 

Number  issued 32,670 

"        returned  unused 6,379 

used..  26,291 

72,460 

STATEMENT  OF  PRESS  TRIP  PASSES. 

Total  number  used ,. 43,000 

(All  issued  to  M.  P.  Handy,  chief  Department  Publicity  and  Promotion.) 

STATEMENT  OF  TRIP  PASSES  ISSUED. 
Total  number  issued 3.995 

Issued  to  Ferd.  W.  Peck,  vice-president  World's  Columbian  Expo- 
sition   _ 100 

George  R.  Davis,  director-general 500 

W.  I.  Buchanan,  chief  Department  Agriculture _  50 

M.  P.  Handy,  chief  Department  Publicity  and  Promotion  195 
H.  N.  Higinbotham,  president  World's  Columbian  Expo- 
sition   700 

T.  W.  Palmer,  president  World's  Columbian  Commission  900 

Mrs.  George  L.  Dunlap,  Children's  Building 900 

Gen.  N.  A.  Miles 500 

John  M.  Clark,  collector  of  customs 100 

Police  Department 50 

Total 3,995 

The  551  passes  charged  as  "  complimentary"  were  issued  to  Illinois 
Assembly,  Chicago  City  Council,  Chicago  police,  representatives  of  the 
different  trades  unions,  Centennial  commissioners,  and  various  others. 
These  passes  were  authorized  by  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collec- 
tions, the  Council  of  Administration,  H.  N.  Higinbotham,  president,  and 
George  R.  Davis,  director-general. 

Three  hundred  and  seventy-three  passes  charged  to  United  States 
Government  Exhibit  include  passes  issued  to  West  Point  cadets.  Thirty- 
seven  passes  issued  to  the  City  Council  of  Philadelphia  were  authorized 
by  the  Council  of  Administration.  Sixty-two  passes  issued  to  Chicago 
police  were  authorized  by  H.  N.  Higinbotham,  president. 

Six  hundred  and  twenty-seven  passes  charged  to  military  companies 


400 


APPENDIX 


were  authorized  by  the  director-general,  and  were  collected  for  at  the 
rate  of  50  cents  per  day  for  the  time  for  which  they  were  issued. 

HORACE  TUCKER,  Esq.,  Superintendent  Department  of  Admissions. 

DEAR  SIR:  On  account  of  the  abuse  and  transferring  of  workmen's 
passes,  which  was  carried  on  to  a  large  extent  on  May  20,  1893,  it  was 
deemed  necessary  to  devise  an  application  for  workmen's  passes  in  the 
form  of  a  contract,  whereby  a  deposit  of  $i  was  to  be  made  for  the  pass 
and  also  a  penalty  of  50  cents  per  day  be  charged  in  case  the  pass  was 
found  in  other  hands  than  that  of  the  original  owner. 

An  application  to  cover  the  above  was  immediately  gotten  up,  as 
sample  attached.  The  passes  to  go  with  this  application  were  three  in 
number  and  of  the  punch  kind,  good  from  June  ist  to  isth.  No.  i  pass, 
blue  in  color,  was  good  at  workmen's  gates  from  6  A.  M.  to  i  p.  M.  No.  2 
pass,  white,  was  good  from  i  p.  M.  to  7  P.  M.  No.  3  pass,  red,  was  good 
from  7  P.  M.  to  6  A.  M.  Only  one  pass  was  issued  to  each  workman,  good 
for  hours  wanted,  and  for  only  one  admission  a  day. 

The  second  half  of  June  passes  were  issued  same  as  above,  and  were 
colored  brown,  pink,  and  yellow.  The  $i  deposited  on  passes  did  not 
apply  to  Exposition  employes  proper,  their  passes  being  issued  free,  and 
so  stamped. 

Contractors  and  others  wishing  to  renew  their  passes  for  the  follow- 
ing month  did  so  by  turning  in  their  old  passes,  on  which  they  had 
deposited  $i,  and  taking  out  a  new  one,  simply  exchanging  them.  When 
through  with  their  passes,  they  turned  them  in  and  received  their  deposit 
of  $i  back. 

The  statement  below  shows  the  number  of  passes  taken  out,  upon 
which  $i  was  deposited: 

June,  first  half 9,713 

June,  secondhalf 1,433 

July 1,193 

August 614 

September- 500 

October..  353 


Total 13,806 

Passes  returned  to  November  soth "...  11 ,271 


2,535 

Passes  not  returned $2,535  00 

Penalties  charged  on  passes  lifted  at  gates 352  50 

Total  derived  from  workmen's  passes $2,887  50 

The  month  of  July  and  thereafter  passes  were  issued  for  the  entire 
month.  The  statement  next  attached  shows  the  complete  number  of 
workmen's  passes  issued  by  this  department. 

Yours  respectfully, 

(Signed)  T.  B.  HINMAN. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  ADMISSIONS. 
WORKMEN'S  PASSES. 


4OI 


Month  of  — 

Series. 

Ordered. 

Issued. 

Total 
Issued. 

Janua 
Febra 

Marcl 
April 

May 

ry 

60,000 
80,000 
70,000 
25,000 
80,000 
35,000 
15,000 
25,000 
20,000 
5,000 
3,000 
5,000 
15,000 
5,000 
3,000 
8,500 
5,000 
3,000 
3,000 
40,000 

55,573 
71,443 
65,101  ) 
21,514  J 
71,580 
23,972  ) 
15,000  \ 
22,143  ) 
13,991" 
206 
513 
2,050  - 
8,102 
170 
420 
7,504 
3,538 
2,369 
2,308 
21,717 

55,573 
71,443 

86,615 
71,580 

61,115 

25,452 

7,504 
3,538 
2,369 
2,308 
21,717 

arv 

i 

(  Workmen's 
1        A 

B 
C 
D 
H 

i 

L 

i    * 
*    S 

s 

T 

U 

w 

X* 

Jtme< 
July 

first  half  

full  month   ._  . 

second  half.      _ 

Augu 
Septei 
Octob 
Novei 
Decer 

5t            

criber 

er               _.  

nber 

ober                           

Totals  

505,500 

409,214 

409,214 

*Issued  by  E.  R.  Graham,  general  manager  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 


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MONTHLY    REPORT   OP   TOTAL   FREE   AND   CASH    ADMISSIONS, 
WITH    DAILY   AVERAGES. 


Free. 

Cash. 

Total. 

Total  Admissions  for  May    

481  947 

1  050037 

1  531  984 

Daily  average  Free  Admissions  (31  days)            15,547 

Daily  average  Cash  Admissions  (28  days)  37,501 
Total  Admissions  for  June 

902,721 

2,675,113 

3  577  834 

Daily  average  Free  Admissions  (30  days)  30,090 
Daily  average  Cash  Admissions  (30  days)  89,170 
Total  Admissions  for  July 

1,217,239 

2  760263 

3,977  502 

Daily  average  Free  Admissions  (31  days)  39,266 

Daily  average  Cash  Admissions  (30  days)            92,009 

Total  Admissions  for  August 

1,172,215 

3,515,493 

4  687  708 

Daily  average  Free  Admissions  (31  days)  37,813 

Daily  average  Cash  Admissions  (31  days)  113,403 
Total  Admissions  for  September 

1,149,071 

4,659,871 

5,808,948 

Daily  average  Free  Admissions  (30  days)  38,302 

Daily  average  Cash  Admissions  (30  days)  155,329 
Total  Admissions  for  October 

1,136,187 

6,819,364 

7,955,551 

Daily  average  Free  Admissions  (30  days)  37,873 

Daily  average  Cash  Admissions  (30  days)  227,318 

Total  Free  and  Cash  Admissions  from  May  1st  to  Oct.  30th. 

6,059,380 

21,480,141 

27,539,521 

Average  Daily  Free  Admissions  from  May  1st  to  October  30th  (inclusive),  183  days,       33,111 
Average  Daily  Cash  Admissions  from  May  1st  to  October  30th  (see  foot  note),  179  days,  120,001 

On  the  following  Sundays,  May  7th,  14th,  21st,  and  July  23d,  only  passholders  were 
admitted  to  the  grounds. 


MONTHLY  REPORT  OF  FREE  ADMISSIONS,   WITH   DAILY   AVERAGES. 


481,947 


Total  Free  Admissions  for  May  ...................................................... 

Daily  average  for  May  (31  days)  ............................  .  ...............  15,547 

Total  Free  Admissions  for  June  .  ..................................................... 

Daily  average  for  June  (30  days)  .....................  .  ......................  30,090 

Total  Free  Admissions  for  July  .....................................................  .  1,217,239 

Daily  average  for  July  (31  days)  ............................................  39,266 

Total  Free  Admissions  for  August  ......................................  ............  3,172,215 

Daily  average  for  August  (31  days)  .........................................  37,813 

Total  Free  Admissions  for  September...  .......................................  1,149,071 


902,721 


Dflilv  flvcfcicfc  for  September  (30  dflys) 
Total  Free  Admissions  for  October ".'."'. ----     1,136,187 

Daily  average  for  October  (30  days) 37,873 

Total  Free  Admissions  from  May  1st  to  October  30th  (inclusive) 6,059,380 

Average  Daily  Free  Admissions  from  May  1st  to  October  30th  (inclusive),  183  days....  33,111 


(409) 


APPENDIX    "E." 

WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN   EXPOSITION. 
DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 

APRIL  14,  1894. 
To  HARLOW  N.  HIGINBOTHAM, 

President  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

SIR; 

I  have  the  honor  and  the  pleasure  of  transmitting  this 
report  of  the  business  of  the  department  which  you  and  the 
other  members  of  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collec- 
tions did  me  the  high  honor  of  considering  me  competent 
to  organize  and  to  conduct,  thus  completing  my  labors  in 
behalf  of  the  great  Columbian  Exposition  of  1892-3. 

It  is  with  feelings  of  much  relief,  but  still  greater  regret, 
that  I  thus  take  leave  of  what  I  realize  will  always  remain 
my  greatest  work. 

I  have  to  thank  you  and  the  other  gentlemen  composing 
the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections  for  the  honor 
conferred  upon  me  and  for  the  confidence  you  and  they 
reposed  in  my  integrity  and  methods,  up  to  the  time  of  the 
dissolution  of  the  bureau;  and  I  have  still  more  to  express 
my  gratitude  to  you  for  your  unwavering  support  of  the 
department  throughout  the  trying  six  months  of  the  Expo- 
sition. Without  that  support  the  department  could  not  have 
accomplished  its  work,  and  without  your  constant  advice 
and  aid  the  results  attained  would  have  been  impossible. 

I  appreciate  the  unvarying  patience  and  consideration 
with  which  you  always  listened  to  and  advised  me  concern- 
ing many  matters  which  to  you  must  have  seemed  unimpor- 
tant, in  the  light  of  the  infinitely  greater  affairs  you  were 
daily  called  upon  to  consider,  and  I  appreciate  the  strength, 
wisdom,  and  firmness,  always  tempered  by  justice  and  by  a 

(4") 


412  APPENDIX  "E." 

sense  of  consideration  for  the  other  side,  with  which  you 
advised  and  supported  my  department  in  the  many  other 
very  important  matters  which  it  was  necessary  to  bring  to 
your  notice. 

GENERAL  REPORT. 

The  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections  appointed  the 
superintendent  of  this  department  during-  the  early  part  of 
February,  1893.  The  superintendent  reported  for  duty  at 
headquarters  of  the  Exposition  on  February  7,  1893,  upon 
which  date  the  organization  of  the  department  began. 

W.  E.  Cash  was  appointed  assistant  superintendent  and 
reported  for  duty  March  10,  1893. 

There  was  no  change  of  superintendent  or  assistant 
superintendent  during  the  existence  of  the  department. 

The  work  of  the  department  practically  ceased  when  the 
superintendency  was  vacated,  which  was  December  31,  1893. 
After  that  time  but  one  man  remained  representing  the 
department;  he  was  checking  up  and  verifying  figures 
between  this  department  and  that  of  the  auditor.  This 
work  was  finished,  and  the  work  of  the  department,  with 
the  exception  of  the  drawing  up  of  this  report,  finally  com- 
pleted March  i,  1894,  at  which  time  all  expense  ceased  and 
the  department  was  at  an  end. 

This  was  the  last  department  organized,  and  the  time  to 
prepare  was  very  short ;  it  was  but  eighty-two  days  to  the 
opening  of  the  Exposition.  The  superintendent  had  abso- 
lutely no  knowledge  of  the  business  to  be  transacted,  beyond 
his  familiarity  with  the  application  of  such  general  princi- 
ples as  would  apply  to  all  business.  He  was  not  familiar 
with  the  contracts  nor  with  the  business  methods  of  the 
Exposition  itself.  Fortunately,  through  his  intimate  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  president  of  the  National 
Commission,  and  with  one  member  of  the  Council  of  Admin- 
istration, which  controlled  and  directed  the  administration 
of  the  Exposition,  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  princi- 
ples governing  the  organization  of  the  Exposition,  including 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  duties  and  capacities  of  the 
National  Commission  and  of  the  directory  of  the  Illinois 
corporation  known  as  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  413 

which  two  bodies  constituted  the  dual  government  of  the 
Exposition.  This  knowledge  enabled  him  to  avoid  many 
errors  which  might  have  been  disastrous,  and  also  enabled 
him  to  reach  any  result  desired  by  the  shortest  possible 
route  by  taking  the  matter  at  once  to  the  department  which 
could  properly  deal  with  it,  give  him  the  information  re- 
quired, or  take  the  action  necessary ;  it  also  enabled  him  to 
avoid  trenching  upon  the  prerogative  of  other  officials, 
thereby  exciting  an  unconscious  opposition  which  would 
have  interfered  with  the  work  of  the  department. 

Nevertheless,  the  time  was  all  too  short,  and  the  superin- 
tendent of  this  department  should  have  been  appointed  at 
least  six  months  before  the  opening  of  the  Exposition. 

SCOPE  AND  DUTIES  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT. 

It  was  contemplated  that  this  department  should  have 
charge  of  all  sources  of  revenue  of  the  Exposition  outside  of 
gate  receipts  and  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  souvenir  coins,  but 
later  the  collection  of  charges  for  electric  light,  power,  etc., 
were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  respective  departments  supply- 
ing the  same. 

The  most  important  work  of  the  department  was  the 
dealing  with  concessionaires,  the  regulating  of  their  business, 
establishing  methods  of  receiving  and  accounting  for  gross 
receipts,  and  collecting  from  them  the  percentages  due  the 
Exposition. 

The  minor  matters  entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  depart- 
ment were  the  revenue  accruing  from  the  music  halls  be- 
longing to  the  Exposition,  the  collection  of  charges  for 
removing  garbage,  collection  of  wharfage  charges  for  land- 
ing at  the  piers,  care  of  the  safety  deposit  vaults,  the  collec- 
tion of  receipts  from  passengers  on  the  traveling  cranes  in 
Machinery  Hall,  the  collection  of  receipts  from  the  sale  of 
dairy  products  in  the  Dairy  Exhibit,  and  a  number  of  minor 
receipts,  the  aggregate  of  which  was  unimportant. 

The  labor  of  organization  was  a  great  one,  and  there 
were  few  or  no  precedents  of  value  in  determining  methods 
to  be  pursued.  The  classes  of  business  represented  by  the 
concessions  granted  were  of  almost  every  conceivable 
variety,  and  the  systems  to  be  used  must  be  such  that  they 


414 


APPENDIX  "£." 


could  be  applied  readily  to  many  varieties  of  business. 
They  must  not  be  expensive,  requiring  a  large  number  of 
employes  either  for  concessionaires  or  for  the  department ; 
they  must  not  be  cumbersome,  thus  rendering  quick  and 
efficient  service  to  the  large  number  of  patrons  expected 
impossible.  Yet  they  must  be  such  as  to  protect  the  Expo- 
sition as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so,  both  as  to  conces- 
sionaires and  as  to  the  employes  of  the  department. 

GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 

The  great  general  principles  to  be  applied  were  these: 

Applicability  to  many  classes  of  business,  dispatch,  econ- 
omy, safety,  absolute  control  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  amount  of  concession  receipts.  Good  will  of  concession- 
aires as  far  as  possible  to  secure  it  without  sacrificing  the 
interests  of  the  Exposition. 

The  foundation  of  the  principal  business  of  the  depart- 
ment consisted  of  the  contracts  between  the  Exposition  and 
a  large  number  of  parties  (who  are  termed  in  this  report 
concessionaires),  granting  to  them  privileges  to  do  certain 
kinds  of  business.  In  all  cases  the  consideration  to  the 
Exposition  was  a  certain  percentage  of  the  gross  receipts, 
which  percentage  varied  from  2%  to  70. 

The  superintendent  began,  single  handed  and  alone,  the 
study  of  the  contracts.  Abstracts  were  made  by  dictation 
to  a  stenographer,  which  process  of  abstracting  involved  a 
thorough  and  careful  reading  of  each  contract.  When  this 
work  had  progressed  a  few  days,  the  concessionaires  were  in- 
vited to  consult  with  the  superintendent  concerning  a  means 
of  securing  an  accounting  and  determining  the  amount 
of  the  gross  receipts  which  would  be  cheap  and  expeditious 
to  the  concessionaire,  and  protective  to  the  interests  of  both 
parties;  for  the  view  taken  was  that  the  department  was  to 
aid  the  concessionaires  in  every  possible  way,  as  well  as  to 
collect  the  revenue  of  the  Exposition.  The  contracts  almost 
invariably  reserved  dictatorial  powers  to  the  Exposition  as 
to  the  methods  of  receiving  and  accounting  for  the  gross 
receipts.  This  fact  being  understood  by  the  concessionaires, 
it  was  possible  in  most  cases,  by  the  use  of  some  tact  and 
diplomacy,  to  exercise  the  authority  reserved  to  the  Exposi- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  415 

tion  and  still  satisfy  the  concessionaire  that  he  was  being 
fairly  treated,  and  that  the  methods  prescribed  and  adopted 
by  the  department  were  as  good  as  the  circumstances  would 
allow.  While  this  was  not  universally  true,  it  was  true  in 
95  per  cent  of  those  cases  where  the  concessionaire  desired 
to  deal  honestly  with  the  Exposition,  but,  of  course,  could 
not  be  expected  to  be  satisfactory  to  the  few  whose  inten- 
tions were  otherwise.  In  the  end  the  department  prescribed 
the  methods. 

After  some  weeks'  careful  study  of  the  contracts,  long  and 
exhaustive  discussions  with  the  concessionaires,  and  consul- 
tation with  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections,  under 
whose  authority  the  department  acted,  gradually  it  became 
clear  to  the  mind  of  the  superintendent  that  the  various  con- 
tracts could  largely  be  classified  so  that  the  perfection  of  a 
comparatively  few  systems,  and  their  proper  application, 
would  cover  nearly  every  class  of  business  to  be  dealt  with. 
These  systems  may  be  briefly  classified  and  described  as 
follows : 

1.  TICKET  SYSTEM. — This  system  would  apply  to  the  sale 
of  a  fixed  article  at  a  fixed  price,  or  to  the  sale  of  not  more 
than  two  fixed  articles  at  two  fixed  prices.     Thus  were 
covered  admissions  to  entertainments,  transportation  of  pas- 
sengers, and  the  sale  of  goods  at  those  stations  where  articles 
were  at  one  or  two  fixed  prices,  such  as  peanuts,  popcorn, 
lemonade,  all  soft  drinks,  etc. 

2.  TICKET  SYSTEM  MODIFIED  FOR  APPLICATION  TO  RES- 
TAURANTS.— This  was  used,  as  implied  above,  in  restaurants, 
cafes,  etc.,  but  was  soon  found  to  be  unsatisfactory,  except 
in  a  few  cases,  and  was  therefore  dropped  by  substituting  the 
third  system. 

3.  RESTAURANT  SYSTEM. — This  was  used  in  restaurants 
after  abolishing  the  modified  ticket  system. 

4.  CASH  REGISTERS. — These  were  used  at  stations  where 
miscellaneous  sales  were  made  which  might  run  in  odd 
amounts,  and  where  the  business  was  large  enough  to  war- 
rant the  expense  of  one  person  to  act  as  cashier. 

5.  DUPLEX  SYSTEM.— This  was  used  in  the  same  class  of 
stations  as  No.  4,  but  where  the  sales  were  too  small  to  war- 
rant the  expense  of  a  cash  register  and  cashier. 


41 6  APPENDIX  "£•." 

6.  WAREHOUSE  SYSTEM. — This  system,  with  its  modifica- 
tions, applied  to  those  classes  of  business  where  goods  could 
be  received  into  a  warehouse  and  easily  checked  out,  such 
as  catalogues,  silver  spoons,  where  all  were  received  from 
one  factory;  guides,  etc.;  and  where  these  articles  were  sold 
separately  from  any  others. 

7.  ACCOUNTING   FROM   THE   BOOKS  OF   THE   CONCESSION- 
AIRES.— This  system  applied  to  cases  which  were  difficult  to 
reach  by  a  fixed  system,  such  as  advertising  privileges; 
Crane  Company,  machinists'  supplies  ;  Hyde  Park  Gas  Com- 
pany. 

In  addition  to  all  systems,  cash  statements  were  made 
daily  at  each  station  as  to  the  actual  cash  receipts,  which 
were  signed  by  the  concessionaire  or  his  agent  in  charge  of 
the  station ;  inspection  of  the  books  of  concessionaires  was 
also  resorted  to,  in  all  cases  where  it  was  considered  desirable, 
in  addition  to  the  systems  established. 

Full  details  of  the  application  and  working  of  the  systems 
will  be  found  under  the  head  of  "  Explanation  of  Systems," 
below. 

Very  careful  and  long  consideration  was  given  to  the 
question  of  the  department  engaging  the  greater  portion  of 
the  cashiers  who  should  actually  receive  the  money  from 
the  customers,  but  it  was  decided  that  as  the  Exposition 
would  then  be  responsible  to  the  concessionaires  for  all 
shortages  on  the  part  of  the  cashiers,  and  that  as  there  was 
no  reason  why  employes  of  the  department  should  be  more 
honest  than  other  employes,  that  the  risk  was  greater  than 
the  benefit,  and  that  it  would  be  more  profitable  to  rigidly 
enforce  the  application  of  the  systems,  and  to  keep  as  close 
watch  as  possible,  dealing  immediately  and  severely  with  all 
offenders. 

EXPLANATION  OF  SYSTEMS. 

Below  will  be  found  full  details  of  each  system  as  estab- 
lished and  operated  by  the  department: 

I.     TICKETS. 

The  principle  governing  this  system  was  that  the  Expo- 
sition should  originate  all  tickets.  The  first  order  given  by 


DEPA  R  TMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  4 1 7 

the  department  for  tickets  was  for  33,000,000,  and  upward 
of  60,000,000  were  used  during  the  Exposition.  The  tickets 
were  printed  in  denominations  of  5,  10,  15,  25,  and  50 
cents,  $i  and  $2.  These  denominations  covered  each  of  the 
various  rates  of  admission  to  all  entertainments,  and  also 
enabled  waiters  in  restaurants  to  make  correct  change.  The 
tickets  were  printed  in  eight  colors,  in  any  number  of  series 
desired;  each  series  was  of  a  distinctive  pattern,  which 
might  easily  be  recognized  from  a  short  distance,  so  that 
inspectors,  secret  service  and  other  employes  of  the  depart- 
ment could  see  whether  the  right  ticket  was  being  used  at 
any  particular  station.  Thus,  with  eight  colors  and  nine 
series,  seventy-two  distinctive  patterns  of  tickets  of  each 
denomination,  each  easily  recognizable,  were  produced. 

The  various  denominations  increased  the  distinctive 
number  of  tickets  also,  so  as  to  reduce  the  possibility  of  a 
ticket  being  purchased  at  one  concession  and  used  at  any 
other  to  a  minimum.  For  instance,  there  were  not  seventy- 
two  places  on  the  ground  where  the  same  admission  charge 
prevailed  ;  and  in  addition,  many  large  concessions  ordered 
distinctive  tickets  of  their  own,  through  the  department. 

The  tickets  were  consecutively  numbered  in  each  series 
and  color  from  one  to  as  high  a  number  as  seemed  desirable, 
the  highest  being  999,999.  One  style  of  package  was  a  com- 
pact roll  containing  1,000,  2,000,  or  5,000  tickets,  consecutively 
numbered.  This  package  was  found  to  be  undesirable,  for 
the  reason  that  mistakes  in  numbering  could  not  be  detected 
until  they  were  discovered  in  the  actual  use  of  the  ticket, 
which  greatly  impaired  the  reliability  of  the  audit,  because 
occasionally  the  numbering  machine  getting  out  of  order, 
would  slip  and  misnumber  the  tickets. 

The  style  of  package  which  was  found  to  be  more  desir- 
able contained  the  tickets  printed  in  strips  of  ten,  in  an 
oblong  package,  blocked  at  one  end.  These  tickets  could  be 
run  through  when  received  from  the  printer,  like  the  pages 
of  a  book,  and  errors  in  numbering  at  once  detected. 

These  packages  usually  contained  500  tickets,  which  was 
found  to  be  the  most  convenient  size  for  handling.  The 
cost  of  the  tickets  ranged  from  16  to  27  cents  per  thousand. 

Circular  No.  i,  which  is  given  below  and  which  was  care- 

27 


41 8  APPENDIX  "£•." 

fully  prepared  for  distribution  to  concessionaires,  explains 
very  carefully  the  practical  working  of  the  system: 

WORLD'S    COLUMBIAN    EXPOSITION. 

BUREAU    OF   ADMISSIONS    AND    COLLECTIONS. 

CIRCULAR  No.  i. 

Instructions  and  regulations  for  concessionaires  and  their  employ 'es, 
in  whose  business  the  ticket  system  will  be  used. 
This  system  will  apply  at — 

1.  Stations  where  one  or  more  articles  are  sold,  all  at  the  same  fixed 
price. 

2.  Stations  where  articles  are  sold  at  not  more  than  two  fixed  prices. 

3.  Stations  where  admission  or  reserved  seat  charge  is  made. 

4.  Stations  where  meals  are  served  at  one  fixed  price,  and  where 
other  refreshments  are  not  served  in  the  same  room. 

5.  Some  other  stations,  concerning  which  information  will  be  given 
at  headquarters  of  this  department. 

TERMS  USED. 

Station  —  A  booth  where  any  money  is  received. 
Division  —  A  part  of  the  grounds  under  supervision  of  a  division 
superintendent. 

TICKETS. 

1.  All  tickets  will  be  printed  by  this  department,  and  will  be  sup- 
plied to  concessionaires  at  cost. 

2.  Tickets  will  be  supplied  by  this  department  to  concessionaires 
according  to  the  needs  of  their  business,  and  will  be  delivered  to  con- 
cessionaires, or  directly  to  the  cashiers  at  stations,  as  this  department 
may  from  time  to  time  direct. 

3.  Receipts  for  tickets  will  be  made  in  triplicate,  each  signed  by  the 
person  delivering  and  person  receiving  tickets  —  one  copy  to  be  given 
the  concessionaire,  one  to  this  department,  one  to  be  retained  by  the 
cashier  or  other  person  receiving  the  tickets.     When  this  department 
calls  in  unused  tickets,  similar  triplicate  receipts  will  be  signed  and 
disposed  of  as  above. 

4.  Tickets  will  be  printed  in  such  forms  and  colors  as  this  depart- 
ment shall  decide,  and  the  tickets  in  use  at  any  station  will  be  changed 
at  any  time  this  department  may  order. 

5.  Tickets  will  be  consecutively  numbered  and  must  be  strictly 
accounted  for. 

6.  Tickets  will  only  be  good  at  the  time  and  station  purchased,  and 
are  not  good  at  other  stations. 

7.  Tickets  of  any  kind  shall  not  be  sold  outside  the  grounds  to  be 
used  within  the  grounds. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  419 

8.  Used  tickets  will  be  destroyed  by  this  department.     Concession- 
aires may  first,  within  a  time  designated  by  this  department,  count  any 
or  all  tickets  pertaining  to  his  concession  in  a  locked  cage  at  department 
headquarters.     If  concessionaires  desire  to  count  tickets  in  any  box  or 
boxes  for  any  day,  this  department  must  be  so  informed  by  the  hour  of 
business  closing  of  that  day. 

9.  Tickets  will  so  vary  in  distinctive  forms,  designs,  colors,  etc.,  as 
to  enable  any  person  to  detect,  in  the  ticket  box  or  elsewhere,  at  once,  a 
ticket  not  properly  in  use  at  any  station  at  a  certain  time,  and  as  tickets 
will  be  frequently  changed  by  this  department,  tickets  will  not  be  coun- 
terfeited, as  there  will  be  no  certainty  that  any  style  of  ticket  will  be 
used  for  any  length  of  time,  or  ever  used  again  at  any  time. 

10.  Tickets  given  concessionaires  or  any  cashier  or  other  employe  of 
concessionaire,  shall  be  charged  the  concessionaire,  and  this  department 
shall  collect  at  night  direct  from  cashier,  or  next  morning  from  conces- 
sionaire, its  percentage  on  all  tickets  unaccounted  for  by  concessionaire 
or  by  his  employes,  together  with  cost  of  the  tickets,  and  which  are  not 
shown  by  them  to  this  department  unbroken  and  in  original  consecutive 
order  and  condition. 

11.  As  tickets  of  each  form  or  series  will  be  consecutively  numbered, 
from  one  into,  perhaps,  millions,  and  as  this  department  will  not  issue 
consignments  consecutively,  it  can  be  determined  at  once,  by  the  tickets 
in  the  boxes,  whether  counterfeit  tickets  are  in  use,  as  the  numbers 
would  not  be  within  the  proper  range. 

SALES  CLERKS. 

12.  Salesmen  shall  under  no  circumstances  take  money  from  cus- 
tomers. 

13.  Salesmen  shall  not  communicate  with  cashiers  during  business 
hours. 

14.  Salesmen  shall  sell  goods  for  tickets  only,  and  shall  at  once,  on 
receiving  ticket  from  a  customer,  drop  it  in  the  ticket  box. 

CASHIERS. 

15.  Cashiers  will  receive  and  receipt  for  tickets,  consecutively  num- 
bered, and  must  each  night  account  for  either  tickets  or  their  value  in 
cash. 

16.  If  cashier  is  changed  from  one  station  to  another,  the  unused 
tickets  must  not  accompany  the  cashier,  but  will  be  used  at  the  station 
to  which  they  were  issued  until  this  department  calls  them  in. 

17.  Cashier  must  be  placed  in  a  stand  which  has  absolutely  no  com- 
munication with  salesmen,  and  so  constructed  as  to  be  seen  into  by  all 
persons  passing. 

1 8.  Cashier  shall  receive  requisite  amount  of  change  each  morning 
from  concessionaire,  which  amount  shall  be  always  the  same.     The 
amount  decided  upon  as  necessary  shall,  before  April  isth,  be  communi- 
cated to  this  department,  and  shall  be  uniform  each  morning  and  to  each 


420  APPENDIX  "£\" 

cashier.  Receipt  for  this  change  shall  be  made  in  triplicate,  one  for 
cashier,  one  for  concessionaire,  and  one  for  this  department. 

Cashier  shall  count  cash  at  night  and  shall  take  triplicate  receipts 
for  same  from  concessionaire,  one  of  which  shall  be  given  this  depart- 
ment, one  shall  be  retained  by  cashier,  and  one  shall  go  to  concession- 
aire. This  receipt  shall  state  the  opening  and  closing  ticket  numbers 
showing  the  day's  business,  and  also  amount  received  in  morning  as 
change. 

In  case  this  department  desires  to  collect  its  percentage  at  night 
direct  from  the  cashier,  it  will  do  so,  giving  triplicate  receipts  to  be 
signed  by  this  department  and  by  the  cashier,  one  to  go  to  concessionaire, 
one  to  this  department,  and  one  to  be  retained  by  the  cashier. 

All  receipts  shall  be  signed  by  representative  of  concessionaire  of  this 
department  and  by  cashier. 

CASHIER'S  STAND. 

19.  Cashier's  stand  shall  be  separate  from  and  in  front  of  counter  | 
when  possible.    It  may  be  at  one  end,  or  in  the  center,  or,  in  case  of 
corner  booths,  may  be  at  one  corner  of  the  booth.     Entrance  to  cashier 
stand  shall  be  from  outside  the  counter,  and  must  be  so  constructed  as 
to  admit  of  full  observation  at  all  moments  inside  of  the  same,  by  all 
persons  passing  the  stand. 

TICKET  BOXES. 

20.  Ticket  boxes  will  be  supplied  at  cost  by  this  department,  of  tin, 
and  provided  with  locks,  of  which  this  department  shall  have  all  keys. 

21.  These  boxes  shall  be  so  placed  that  all  persons  passing  or  buying 
can  readily  see  whether  each  ticket  is  put  in  the  box  by  the  salesmen. 

22.  Boxes  will  be  collected  by  this  department  at  night  and  taken  to 
department  headquarters.    Any  concessionaire  desiring  to  count  tickets 
in  any  box  may  do  so,  in  a  locked  cage  provided  at  headquarters  of  this 
department,  provided  this  department  shall  be  notified  before  closing 
hour  of  that  day. 

TICKET  SIGN. 

23.  This  department  will  supply  at  cost,  small,  neat  signs  reading  : 
"This  ticket  only  is  good  this  day,"  and  also  small  signs  which  shall 
be  facsimiles  of  the  various  tickets.      The  ticket  in  use  at  any  time 
must  correspond  with  the  facsimile  sign,  which  shall  be  hung  over  the 
cashier's  window. 

These  facsimile  signs  shall  belong  to  this  department,  and  shall  be 
changed  as  it  shall  direct,  in  harmony  with  change  of  tickets. 

EMPLOYES. 

24.  Any  employe  who  shall  not  fully  comply  with  all  instructions 
herein,  or  whom  this  department  shall  suspect,  upon  reasonable  grounds, 
of  endeavoring  to  falsify  collections,  or  of  entering  into  any  collusion 
with  a  view  to  deceiving  this  department,  will  be  immediately  deprived 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  421 

of  his  or  her  pass,  and  shall  under  no  circumstances  receive  another 
during  the  Exposition  period.  Under  the  photographic  system  of  passes 
adopted  by  the  Bureau  of  Admissions  and  Collections,  it  will  be  impos- 
sible to  obtain  a  new  pass. 

PAUL  BLACKMAR, 
Superintendent  of  Collections. 

Concessionaires  would  make  a  written  requisition  stating 
the  number  of  tickets  desired,  the  denomination,  and  the 
station  of  the  concession  at  which  they  were  to  be  used. 
The  department  filled  this  requisition,  delivering  such  series 
and  color  as  it  saw  fit.  The  tickets  so  delivered,  and  those 
tickets  only,  could  be  properly  used  at  that  station,  nor  could 
they  be  used  at  any  other  station,  either  of  that  concession 
or  any  other.  The  tickets  were  receipted  for  by  the  conces- 
sionaire and  charged  to  his  account,  the  receipt  and  charge 
each  stating  the  number  of  tickets,  the  opening  and  closing 
numbers,  the  denomination,  series,  and  color. 

If  the  department  thought  for  any  reason  that  any  sta- 
tion was  making  improper  use  of  the  tickets,  it  would  send 
to  the  station  other  tickets  of  a  different  color  and  distinctive 
series,  taking  up  such  as  were  left  on  hand  of  the  tickets 
previously  delivered,  giving  receipt  for  them  and  crediting 
them  back  to  the  account  of  the  concessionaire. 

Tickets  as  sold  would  be  torn  singly  off  the  strip  and  the 
having  of  loose  tickets  in  the  possession  of  a  ticket  seller  or 
ticket  taker  was  sufficient  cause  for  reprimand,  and  if  the 
offense  was  repeated,  for  canceling  the  pass  of  the  offender. 

As  soon  as  the  ticket  was  used  by  the  customer  handing 
it  to  the  sales  clerk  or  to  the  doorkeeper  of  the  entertain- 
ment, it  was  immediately  dropped  into  a  lock  box  of  which 
the  department  had  the  only  key. 

This  explanation,  in  connection  with  the  circular  given 
above,  will  give  a  clear  understanding  of  the  operation  of 
this  system. 

2.       TICKET  SYSTEM  MODIFIED  FOR  APPLICATION  TO 
RESTAURANTS. 

The  same  tickets  were  used  as  in  System  No.  i,  and  the 
method  of  distribution  to  restaurant  concessionaires  was  the 
same. 


422  APPENDIX  "E.n 

The  tickets  were  sold  to  the  waiters  by  the  concession- 
aire in  amounts  of  usually  $10,  and  in  denominations 
enabling  the  waiter  to  make  change  for  all  amounts.  The 
waiter  would  take  the  order  from  a  customer,  and  in  bring- 
ing the  same  from  the  kitchen,  would  stop  at  the  checker's 
stand  — •  the  checker  was  in  the  employ  of  the  concessionaire, 
and  was  supposed  to  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  prices 
on  the  bill  of  fare.  He  would  look  over  the  tray  and 
announce  the  amount,  so  that  it  could  be  plainly  heard  both 
by  the  waiter  and  the  ticket  receiver,  who  was  in  the  employ 
of  the  department,  and  who  never  was  assigned  more  than 
two  or  three  consecutive  days  to  the  same  place,  for  the  pur- 
pose, as  far  as  possible,  of  avoiding  collusion  with  the  wait- 
ers and  checkers.  The  ticket  receiver  sat  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  checker,  and  the  waiter  would  pay  the  amount  in  tick- 
ets to  the  ticket  receiver,  who  would  immediately  drop  them 
into  a  locked  box,  provided  for  the  purpose,  as  described  in 
Circular  No.  i,  referred  to  in  explanation  of  System  No.  i. 

The  waiter  passed  on  with  the  tray  and  collected  the 
same  amount  in  cash  from  the  customer,  which  cash  was  the 
personal  property  of  the  waiter,  as  he  had  paid  cash  to  the 
proprietor  or  manager  for  the  tickets. 

Defect  in  this  System. 

Theoretically,  the  system  seemed  good  ;  practically  it 
was  a  failure,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  very  large 
concessions,  which  could  afford  a  most  thorough  organiza- 
tion, for  their  own  protection  against  their  employes.  The 
reason  of  the  failure  was  the  fact  that  the  tickets  being 
handled  by  a  large  number  of  irresponsible  waiters,  and  by 
150  ticket  receivers,  it  was  possible  to  pass  the  tickets  in 
other  restaurants  than  those  to  which  they  were  issued,  thus 
holding  out  a  great  temptation  to  employes,  both  of  the 
department  and  of  concessionaires.  It  was  discovered  that 
within  a  few  days  after  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  a 
combination  was  formed,  with  several  restaurant  managers 
at  the  head  of  it,  between  them,  the  waiters,  and  the  ticket 
receivers,  to  defraud  both  the  Exposition  and  the  concession- 
aires. The  process  was  this  :  The  ticket  receiver  would 
"  hold  out "  a  large  number  of  tickets,  usually  of  the  higher 


i?5?V 

OF    THE  IS 

UNIVERSITY    > 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  423 

denominations  of  25  and  50  cents.  These  tickets  were  passed 
over  to  the  managers  in  the  combine,  who  paid  the  ticket 
receivers  a  small  consideration,  based  upon  the  purchase 
value  of  the  tickets.  The  managers  sold  them  to  the  vari- 
ous waiters  under  them  at  an  advance  on  this  price,  but  at 
considerable  less  than  their  face  value.  The  waiters  paid 
for  orders  with  them  at  face  value,  collecting  in  turn  the  full 
amount  from  the  customer. 

The  department  withdrew  this  system,  substituting  Sys- 
tem No.  3,  except  in  cases  of  very  large  concessions,  the 
managements  of  which  were  thoroughly  organized  within 
themselves.  These  few  concessions  overcame  the  difficulty 
by  selling  the  tickets  to  the  waiters  every  morning,  and  as 
often  through  the  day  as  they  ran  out  of  tickets,  stamping 
each  and  every  ticket  with  the  date  upon  the  back.  At  night 
each  waiter  turned  in  all  the  tickets  remaining  in  his  posses- 
sion, and  was  paid  for  them.  Tickets  were  only  good  upon 
the  date  stamped  upon  them.  It  was  not  wise  to  make  this 
arrangement  except  where  the  concessionaires  were  thorough 
organizers,  and  where  the  concession  was  so  large  that  the 
concessionaire,  to  insure  his  own  safety  as  against  his 
employes,  had  to  make  his  system  very  accurate  and  com- 
plete. A  concessionaire  who  had  but  one  restaurant,  and 
ran  it  himself,  could  have  used  this  system  by  collusion  with 
the  ticket  receiver,  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Exposition. 

3.     RESTAURANT    SYSTEM. 

Under  this  system  the  waiter  would  take  the  order  from 
a  customer,  and  in  bringing  the  same  from  the  kitchen,  would 
stop  before  the  checker's  desk,  as  in  System  No.  2 ;  the  amount 
was  ascertained  by  the  checker,  written  upon  a  slip,  making 
two  impressions,  by  use  of  carbon  paper,  and  one  was  handed 
to  the  waiter,  the  other  remained  with  the  checker.  The 
waiter  passed  on  with  the  tray  to  the  cashier,  presented  the 
check,  paid  the  amount  in  cash,  the  cashier  receiving  and 
keeping  the  check,  and  as  an  additional  safeguard,  ringing 
up  the  amount  on  a  cash  register ;  the  waiter  then  collected 
the  amount  from  the  customer.  The  checks  came  in  book 
form,  were  consecutively  numbered,  the  number  of  the 
waiter  put  upon  each  check  by  the  checker,  and  as  the  dupli- 


APPENDIX  "AV 

cate  remained  in  the  book  at  the  checker's  desk,  it  was  easy 
to  check  out  any  discrepancy  and  to  find  what  waiter  was 
responsible  for  any  check  which  the  cashier  had  not  received. 
Neither  system  adopted  in  the  restaurants  was  entirely 
satisfactory.  The  nearest  approach  to  complete  safety  can 
only  be  had  where  the  customer  pays  his  check  himself  to  a 
cashier  stationed  at  the  exit,  as  he  goes  out,  but  it  was 
feared  by  all  concessionaires,  and  also  by  the  department, 
that  with  the  great  number  of  patrons  expected,  the  delay 
would  be  such  that  the  loss  of  business  in  this  way  would 
more  than  offset  the  leakage  from  the  other  systems;  but  if 
the  experience  were  to  be  repeated,  the  superintendent 
would  adopt  and  insist  upon  a  system  which  would  include 
this  feature,  in  preference  to  any  and  all  others,  believing  it 
possible  by  good  management  to  insure  good  service  and  to 
avoid  unnecessary  delay. 

4.     CASH    REGISTERS. 

It  was  decided  to  use  cash  registers  in  those  places  where 
the  sales  were  of  a  mixed  character,  that  might  range  in  any 
amount  from  5  cents  up,  especially  at  stations  where  the 
sales  were  many  in  number  but  small  as  to  amount  of  each, 
and  where  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  wait  upon  custom- 
ers and  to  make  change  quickly,  so  as  not  to  lose  custom 
because  of  delay.  There  were  delivered  at  the  superintend- 
ent's office,  machines  of  many  makes  and  many  patterns. 
This  matter  was  more  especially  referred  to  the  assistant 
superintendent,  and  he  spent  four  weeks  in  carefully  inves- 
tigating the  merits  of  all  machines.  The  number  of  ma- 
chines eventually  used  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  depart- 
ment was  644.  They  were  of  two  patterns,  known  as  "  total 
adders"  and  "detail  adders."  The  difference  in  the  gen- 
eral principle  governing  the  two  patterns  was  that  the  total 
adder  made  a  continuous  record  up  to  $99,999.95,  at  which 
point  it  automatically  reset  itself  at  naught.  It  could  not  be 
turned  back  to  naught  or  the  reading  altered,  except  by  a 
mechanic  who  understood  the  machine,  and  who  had  to  use 
special  tools  for  the  purpose.  The  detail  adder  would  also 
make  a  continuous  record,  if  desired,  but  was  built  so  that  it 
could  be  readily  reset  at  naught  by  anyone  who  could  unlock 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  425 

the  machine.  This  device  was  more  convenient  for  stations 
where  a  great  number  of  sales  would  go  at  one  price,  such 
as  buttonhole  bouquets,  cigars,  and  articles  of  that  kind. 

Within  a  month  from  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  the 
department  became  convinced  that  the  detail  adder  was  an 
unsafe  machine  for  the  purpose  of  a  triple  accounting 
between  a  concessionaire,  the  employe  of  the  concessionaire, 
and  the  employe  of  the  department,  because  the  department 
employe  who  unlocked  the  machine  to  take  the  reading 
could  make  a  false  report  of  a  less  amount  than  the  reading, 
and  by  resetting  the  machine  at  naught  to  begin  the  new 
business,  could  destroy  all  evidence  of  falsification.  This 
practice  the  department  was  convinced  was  resorted  to  by 
two  or  three  of  the  division  superintendents  in  its  employ, 
by  collusion,  either  with  the  concessionaire  or  the  employe 
of  the  concessionaire,  the  amount  of  revenue  of  which  the 
Exposition  was  defrauded  being  divided  between  the  two 
parties  to  the  fraud. 

The  department  ceased  the  use  of  these  machines  as  fast 
as  the  total  adders  could  be  substituted. 

In  taking  the  reading  from  the  total  adder,  should  the 
division  superintendent  report  falsely,  the  Exposition  would 
be  defrauded  of  revenue  temporarily,  but  the  first  time 
another  employe  of  the  department  should  open  the  machine 
for  the  exact  purpose  of  keeping  a  check  upon  the  division 
superintendent,  the  real  total  amount  up  to  that  time  must 
necessarily  appear,  and  of  course  any  amounts  which  the 
department  had  temporarily  lost  would  be  at  once  charged 
against  the  concessionaire. 

The  operation  of  the  system  was  as  follows:  The  depart- 
ment made  a  contract  with  a  cash  register  company  to 
supply  all  the  machines  necessary  to  concessionaires  at  such 
times  and  places  as  the  department  should  direct.  The  rent 
was  to  be  $8  per  month  for  each  register,  which  was  to  be 
paid  by  the  concessionaire  direct  to  the  company.  The  com- 
pany were  to  keep  the  machines  in  order;  were  to  replace 
any  broken  or  disabled  machine  immediately  upon  notice 
with  a  perfect  machine,  without  charge,  and  the  company 
also  took  all  risk  of  breakage,  damage,  etc.,  except  from 
willful  malice.  The  department  guaranteed  the  company 


426  APPENDIX  "£•." 

the  collection  of  the  rent  for  the  machines,  and  eventually 
paid  a  sum  something  less  than  $400,  which  the  company 
was  unable  to  collect  from  the  concessionaires. 

The  registers  as  ordinarily  made  have  a  lock,  but  one  key 
will  fit  all  or  at  least  a  great  number  of  the  locks;  therefore, 
the  department  ordered  that  the  machines  should  be  pro- 
vided with  staples  and  hasps.  The  department  provided  a 
padlock  for  each  machine,  holding  the  only  key  thereto  in  its 
possession,  the  concessionaire  or  his  agent  retaining  the  key 
to  the  ordinary  lock;  thus  the  machine  could  only  be  opened 
in  the  presence  of  both  the  concessionaire  or  his  agent  and 
the  division  superintendent  of  the  department.  The  reading 
was  then  taken  and  signed  both  by  the  concessionaire  or  his 
agent  and  by  the  division  superintendent,  this  reading  being 
turned  in  to  the  office  of  the  department.  The  difference 
between  it  and  the  reading  of  the  day  before  gave  the 
amount  of  the  day's  business. 

Concessionaires  were  instructed  that  each  sale,  as  soon  as 
made,  must  be  separately  rung  up  on  the  machine,  and  that 
only  one  person  must  handle  the  register. 

The  register  was  invariably  to  be  placed  in  plain  sight 
where  customers,  inspectors,  secret  service,  and  all  passers 
by  could  see  plainly  the  figures  that  were  rung  up.  By  this 
means  the  department  was  able  to  tell  whether  a  reasonable 
degree  of  honesty  prevailed  in  the  use  of  the  registers. 

When  reports  were  turned  in  by  secret  service  or  other 
employes  that  less  than  actual  amounts,  or  "  no  sale  "  were 
being  rung  up  at  any  station,  a  special  agent  was  immedi- 
ately sent  to  unlock  the  machine,  take  the  reading  and  to 
count  the  money  in  the  drawer.  If  the  cashier  falsely  ring- 
ing up  had  put  the  money  in  the  drawer,  the  cash  would 
overrun  the  reading  and  the  evidence  was  conclusive  ;  steps 
were  taken  to  immediately  rectify  the  amount  in  the  interest 
o£  the  Exposition,  and  warning  was  issued  against  further 
dealings  of  the  kind. 

5.     DUPLEX    SYSTEM. 

This  system  was  used  for  the  same  class  of  stations  and 
business  as  No.  4,  but  where  the  number  of  sales  was  apt 
to  be  comparatively  small,  making  speed  in  waiting  upon 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  427 

customers  relatively  unimportant  This  is  the  system  ordi- 
narily in  use  in  dry  goods  and  other  mercantile  institu- 
tions, the  sales  clerk,  being  furnished  with  a  book  composed 
of  fifty  slips  and  duplicates  consecutively  numbered,  making 
out  a  slip  for  each  customer  and  a  duplicate  each  time  by 
means  of  carbon  paper,  the  duplicate  remaining  in  the  book, 
and  the  cash  received  should  balance  with  the  amount  repre- 
sented by  the  duplicates.  As  in  the  case  of  the  cash  register, 
each  separate  sale  must  be  immediately  noted  upon  the  slip. 
The  book  slips  must  be  invariably  kept  in  plain  sight,  and 
all  writing  in  the  book  must  be  made  in  the  most  exposed 
and  conspicuous  position  in  the  booth,  so  that  customers, 
secret  service,  and  others  could  tell  sales  were  being  properly 
recorded. 

6.     WAREHOUSE    SYSTEM. 

The  department  was  provided  with  a  large  warehouse, 
where  it  received  for  concessionaires  such  articles  as  cata- 
logues, guides,  souvenir  satchels,  all  stationary-stand  articles, 
and  other  articles  which  were  to  be  sold  at  stations  where 
nothing  was  sold  except  such  articles  "as  could  be  classed  and 
handled  under  this  system. 

The  articles  having  been  received  into  the  care  of  the 
department,  were  delivered  to  the  concessionaires  owning 
them  as  desired,  the  percentage  being  immediately  charged 
them  upon  the  retail  selling  price  of  the  articles.  The 
amount  was  not  paid  immediately  by  the  concessionaire,  but 
was  paid  by  him  daily  upon  his  report  of  the  amount  of  sales, 
the  final  settlement  being  made  upon  the  basis  of  all  of  the 
goods  delivered  to  him  at  the  retail  prices,  less  goods  returned 
to  the  warehouse,  the  difference  between  the  two  amounts 
showing  the  full  sum  on  which  percentage  was  to  be  paid. 

A  few  large  concessionaires  provided  warehouses  of  their 
own,  but  they  were  rather  in  the  nature  of  what  might  be 
styled  "bonded  warehouses,"  the  department  checking  in  all 
the  goods  as  received,  and  concessionaires  accounting  in  final 
settlement  for  all  that  were  not  found  in  the  warenouses. 

A  further  modification  of  this  system  governed  a  few  such 
articles  as  solid  silver  souvenir  spoons,  which  were  all  fur- 
nished the  concessionaire  by  one  responsible  factory,  which 
furnished  the  department  with  certified  invoices  of  each  ship- 


428  APPENDIX  "£." 

ment  to  the  concessionaire,  together  with  a  sworn  monthly 
statement.  The  goods  were  kept  track  of  tinder  these  invoices 
and  sworn  statements,  and  the  accounting  made  as  in  the  case 
of  warehouses. 

This  system  theoretically  is  perfect,  but  in  practice  it  will 
only  apply  to  those  articles  which  it  is  difficult  to  smuggle 
into  the  grounds.  It  was  found  necessary  to  modify  and  limit 
its  application  to  a  comparatively  small  number  of  articles  be- 
cause of  this  objection. 

7.     ACCOUNTING  FROM  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  CONCESSIONAIRES. 

This  was  limited  to  the  smallest  possible  number  of  con- 
cessionaires, and  confined  to  those  where  no  system  could  be 
made  to  apply  without  either  great  expense  or  great  incon- 
venience, as  it  was  thought  to  be  good  judgment  to  put  every- 
thing upon  a  business  basis  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  the 
Exposition,  being  practically  a  partner  in  the  concessions, 
might  have  some  share  in  the  control  of  the  receipts. 

This  accounting  was  used  in  some  cases  as  the  only  pos- 
sible means,  and  was  resorted  to  in  a  great  number  of  cases 
where  systems  were  used,  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  the 
results;  and  was  also  employed  in  all  other  cases  where  the 
department  had  reason  to  believe  that  the  systems  were  not 
being  perfectly  applied,  or  were  being  misused  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  Exposition. 

INTERNAL  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT. 

A  full  understanding  of  the  work  to  be  accomplished 
being  arrived  at,  and  the  methods  and  systems  to  be  adopted 
and  enforced  being  determined  upon,  it  was  necessary  to 
organize  the  department  within  itself,  so  that  the  best  results 
possible  might  be  arrived  at.  It  was  not  believed  that  all 
the  money  which  might  become  due  the  Exposition  would 
be  collected,  but  rather  that  many  concessionaires  would 
endeavor  by  every  possible  means  to  defraud  the  Exposition. 

But  the  department  was  determined  that  fraud  should  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  that,  with  the  support  and  aid 
of  the  executive  authorities  of  the  Exposition,  systems  would 
be  enforced,  offenders  should  be  dealt  with  in  such  manner 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


429 


as  to  suppress  further  offense  as  far  as  possible,  and  that  the 
loss  to  the  Exposition  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  internal  organization  must  also  be  such  as  to  guard 
against  dishonesty  and  incompetence  on  the  part  of  employes 
of  the  department,  as  far  as  possible,  for  there  was  no  reason 
to  believe  that  with  the  large  number  of  employes  necessary, 
all  would  be  efficient  and  above  suspicion. 

The  efficiency  of  the  department  in  respect  to  its 
employes  was  wonderfully  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the 
superintendent  had  absolute  control  of  engagement  and  dis- 
charge ;  in  fact  this  principle  was  one  of  those  agreed  upon 
between  the  superintendent  and  Bureau  of  Admissions  and 
Collections  at  the  time  the  appointment  was  tendered  him. 

From  the  decision  of  the  superintendent  within  the 
department  there  was  no  appeal,  the  result  being  that 
within  a  few  weeks  from  the  time  the  force  was  thoroughly 
organized  (May  i,  1893),  everything  was  running  smoothly 
within  the  department.  There  was  no  crossing  of  authority; 
petty  jealousies,  which  so  outrageously  interfere  with  the 
working  capacity  of  large  forces  of  .men,  were  suppressed; 
peace  and  harmony  were  the  rule,  and  good  results  were 
possible. 

There  were  quite  a  number  of  subdepartments  within 
the  department,  each  having  a  head,  and  this  head  was  held 
responsible  for  the  prompt  performance  of  the  duties  with 
which  he  and  his  men  were  entrusted.  The  head  of  this 
subdepartment  could  recommend  to  the  superintendent 
employes  whom  he  would  like  to  work  under  him,  but  had 
not  the  power  of  engaging  or  discharging. 

Every  employe  of  the  department,  while  he  was  expected 
to  report  to  the  man  in  charge  of  his  particular  class  of 
work,  had  personal  access  to  the  superintendent  on  any 
matter,  whether  of  a  personal  or  business  nature,  which  he 
desired  to  present.  There  was  no  favoritism.  Every  employe 
was  expected  to  perform  the  duties  allotted  him,  and  while 
some  work  was  necessarily  more  desirable  than  others,  the 
employes  were  assigned  to  the  various  positions,  as  far  as 
might  be,  because  of  their  fitness,  and  not  because  of  any 
personal  feeling.  That  general  good  feeling  and  loyalty 
prevailed  throughout  the  department  is  perhaps  best  evi- 


430 


APPENDIX 


denced  by  the  fact  that  the  superintendent  and  the  assistant 
superintendent  were  each  presented  with  a  memorial  and 
token  of  remembrance,  in  the  presentation  of  which  nearly 
all  the  employes  of  the  department  joined,  notwithstanding 
that  95  per  cent  of  the  entire  force  were  absolute  strangers 
to  the  superintendent  and  his  assistant  up  to  the  time  they 
entered  the  employ  of  the  department. 

The  subdepartments  and  their  duties  may  be  briefly 
classified  as  follows : 

I.       OFFICE    FORCE. 

Of  this  subdepartment  the  chief  clerk  was  head,  and  was 
held  responsible.  It  included  the  supervision  of  the  book- 
keeping, the  making  up  of  the  audits,  the  figuring  of  the 
percentage,  the  corrections  of  errors  in  audits,  and  general 
work  of  that  kind.  This  subdepartment  also  had  charge  of 
the  inspection  and  the  verification  of  the  books  and  accounts 
of  the  concessionaires  and  of  the  traveling  auditors,  so 
called,  whose  duty  it  was  to  harmonize  discrepancies  between 
accounts  of  the  concessionaires  and  those  of  the  depart- 
ment. 

It  was  in  this  subdepartment  that  the  entire  work  of  the 
department  was  perfected  and  the  amounts  for  collection 
determined. 

Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  labor  of  this  sub- 
department  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  it  handled 
during  the  season  about  188,250  division  superintendents' 
reports;  that  difference  in  figures  and  disputes  as  to  cor- 
rectness of  the  same  were  adjudicated,  corrected,  and  har- 
monized thereby. 

Also,  at  the  close  of  the  season,  the  chief  clerk,  with  a 
few  of  his  assistants,  made  up  the  figures  for  this  report, 
which  necessitated  the  rehandling  and  entering  of  each  and 
every  individual  audit  for  the  entire  season,  so  that  from  the 
records  in  the  possession  of  the  superintendent  it  can  be 
shown  what  the  receipts  were  at  each  station  of  every  con- 
cession on  the  grounds  (with  some  very  few  exceptions)  for 
every  day  of  the  season,  and  also  the  number  of  people  who 
attended  any  special  performance  on  the  grounds,  the  num- 
ber of  passengers  on  the  electric  launches,  the  gondolas,  the 
elevated  railroad,  etc.,  upon  any  special  day  desired.  In  fact, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


431 


the  classification  of  the  figures  for  this  report  involved  the 
doing  over  of  the  entire  clerical  work  for  the  season.  The 
figures  were  made  to  harmonize  with  those  of  the  auditor's 
department,  so  that  when  the  figures  for  the  report  were 
finally  finished  by  the  chief  clerk  and  his  assistants  all  dis- 
crepancies were  eliminated  and  an  exact  balance  arrived  at. 

While  it  might  appear  that  making  the  figures  balance 
should  not  be  difficult,  and  that  they  should  balance  them- 
selves, when  it  is  considered  that  the  department  was  prac- 
tically keeping  books  for  370  concessionaires,  a  very  great 
number  of  whom  had  no  methods  or  ideas  of  bookkeeping ; 
that  the  errors  and  discrepancies,  for  this  reason  alone,  ran 
into  the  thousands;  that  cross  entries  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  these  differences  were  very  numerous,  it  will  be 
evident  that  the  work  of  balancing  up  was  no  light  one,  and 
it  will  be  easier  to  understand  the  immense  labor  of  finally 
verifying  and  balancing  the  figures  for  the  entire  season, 
audit  by  audit  and  day  by  day. 

The  salaries  per  month  in  this  subdepartment  were: 
Messenger  boys,  $30;  girls  counting  tickets,  $45  to  $50, 
clerks,  $60  to  $75  ;  bookkeepers,  $75  to"  $100;  stenographers, 
$50  to  $75  ;  traveling  auditors,  $75  to  $100 ,  chief  clerk,  $125. 

In  close  connection  with  this  force,  and  with  headquarters 
in  the  same  large  accounting  room,  were  subdepartments 
Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  7,  and  8. 

2.     COLLECTION    FORCE. 

This  subdepartment  was  under  the  charge  of  the  chief 
collector,  whose  duties  were  to  receive  the  statements  daily 
from  the  chief  clerk's  department,  enter  them  upon  a  collec- 
tion sheet,  and  distribute  them  to  his  collectors.  He  also 
checked  off  on  this  collection  sheet  each  day's  collection 
from  each  concession  as  it  was  paid,  and  a  glance  at  this 
sheet  showed,  daily,  the  exact  daily  audits  still  outstanding 
and  unpaid  against  each  concession.  The  more  obdurate 
and  difficult  cases  he  also  undertook  to  collect  himself.  The 
collectors,  upon  receiving  their  statements  each  day,  entered 
them  each  in  his  own  collection  book,  and  started  on  their 
daily  tour  to  collect  money,  keeping  an  accurate  account  of 
all  amounts  received  and  by  whom  paid.  Upon  returning 


432 


APPENDIX  "E. 


to  the  office  they  turned  in  the  money  to  the  cashier  of  the 
department,  taking  his  receipt  therefor. 

The  collectors  consulted  the  chief  collector  in  cases  of 
difficulty,  and  in  extreme  cases,  which  the  chief  collector  was 
not  able  to  deal  with  successfully,  he  in  turn  consulted  with 
the  superintendent  or  assistant  superintendent  of  the  depart- 
ment. Where  collections  were  made  in  cash  the  only  imme- 
diate check  against  the  collector  was  the  statements  he  took 
out,  but  where  the  amount  was  paid  by  check  the  general 
order  was  that  all  checks  should  be  drawn  to  the  order  of 
the  treasurer  of  the  Exposition.  The  details  of  the  organi- 
zation of  this  subdepartment  were  so  thoroughly  worked 
out  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  for  a  collector  to  hold  out 
or  suppress  more  than  a  very  small  part  of  one  or,  at  the 
outside,  two  days'  collections  without  discovery,  should  he 
be  disposed  to  do  so.  The  collectors  were  under  bonds  of 
$1,000  each,  and  there  was  only  one  case  of  default,  which 
occurred  Saturday,  the  collector  leaving  the  city  Saturday 
night.  Sunday  the  discrepancy  was  known  early  in  the 
morning,  from  scrutinizing  the  figures,  because  of  the  fact 
that  this  collector  had  turned  in  on  Friday  an  even  amount 
as  received  from  one  concessionaire  instead  of  the  exact 
amount  of  the  audit,  and  it  was  not  the  custom  of  this  par- 
ticular concessionaire  to  pay  otherwise  than  the  exact  amount 
of  the  audit.  One  other  collection  had  also  run  over  two 
days;  this  concessionaire  invariably  paid  promptly.  The 
full  amount  of  the  default  was  covered  by  the  bond  of  the 
collector,  and  was  paid  to  the  Exposition  by  the  bonding 
company.  It  would,  of  course,  have  been  possible  for  a  col- 
lector to  abscond  with  his  day's  collections,  and  the  bonds 
should  in  each  case  have  been  somewhat  larger,  possibly 
$2,500,  which  would  have  been  ample.  It  was  very  nearly 
impossible  for  any  collector  to  suppress  any  part  of  his  col- 
lections and  continue  his  work  for  more  than  two  days,  and 
without  several  days'  partial  suppression  no  large  amount 
could  be  taken,  as  the  cash  received  was  very  largely  silver 
and  the  checks  were  uncollectible. 

The  men  collecting  from  the  slot  machines  were  really 
a  part  of  this  subdepartment,  although  as  they  collected  the 
money  directly  from  the  machines,  of  which  the  department 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


433 


held  the  only  keys,  there  were,  of  course,  no  statements  for 
them  to  collect  from.  They  brought  the  gross  receipts  from 
the  machines  to  the  office  of  the  department,  where  it  was 
divided,  giving  the  concessionaire  his  proportion,  the  balance 
being  turned  in  to  the  cashier  of  the  department. 

The  salaries  in  this  subdepartment  were:  Collectors, 
$50  to  $75;  chief  collector,  $100. 

3.      CASHIER. 

The  cashier  and  his  assistant  received  all  moneys  from 
the  collectors,  or  from  concessionaires  or  others,  who 
came  directly  to  the  office  to  pay;  gave  receipts  to  each 
party  for  the  amount  received;  entered  it  in  the  cash  books, 
and  daily  turned  over  all  the  money  received  to  the  treas- 
urer of  the  Exposition,  taking  his  receipt  therefor.  Two 
cash  books  were  used,  one  for  each  alternate  day,  so  that  the 
receipts  of  Monday  could  be  posted  directly  from  Monday's 
cash  book  to  the  ledger,  allowing  the  cashier  the  use  of  the 
other  book  to  enter  Tuesday's  receipts.  This  arrangement 
allowed  the  work  to  progress  without  delay,  either  to  the 
bookkeeper  or  the  cashier,  which  was  very  necessary,  as  the 
cashier's  labor  seldom  ended  before  somewhere  between  9 
and  1 1  o'clock  at  night,  and  the  bookkeeper  or  his  assistant 
did  not  get  through  their  labors  before  2  or  4  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

The  actual  cash  passing  through  the  hands  of  the  cashier 
during  the  season  was  $3,469,494.85. 

The  salaries  per  month  in  this  subdepartment  were: 
Cashier,  $100;  assistant  cashier,  $75. 

4.     TICKET    ROOM    FORCE. 

This  subdepartment  was  under  the  charge  of  the  chief 
ticket  clerk.  Its  duties  were  to  receive  tickets  from  the 
printer,  run  through  them,  see  that  the  numbers  were  cor- 
rect, record  them  as  received,  fully  noting  the  inclusive 
numbers,  denominations,  colors,  and  series  of  each  package, 
stowing  them  in  the  ticket  vault,  in  such  a  manner  that  any 
special  numbers,  denomination,  color,  and  series  could  be 
instantly  gotten  at.  It  also  received  requisitions  from  con- 
cessionaires for  tickets,  and  filled  the  same,  taking  the  con- 

28 


434  APPENDIX  "J£." 

cessionaire's  receipt  therefor.  This  work  invariably  passed 
through  the  hands  of  at  least  two  persons,  to  avoid  any  col- 
lusion between  the  employe  delivering  the  tickets  and  the 
concessionaire  receiving  them,  as  to  the  number  of  tickets 
delivered,  and  all  other  points  which  it  was  necessary  to  pro- 
tect. Each  concession  was  charged  the  exact  tickets  deliv- 
ered, the  record  of  the  transaction  stating  the  opening  and 
closing  numbers  of  the  tickets  delivered,  the  denomination, 
color,  and  series,  and  the  number  of  the  requisition.  From 
the  records  kept  in  the  ticket  office  it  was  possible  to  tell  at 
any  time  every  individual  ticket  that  had  been  delivered  to 
each  concession,  and  if  a  ticket  were  brought  to  the  depart- 
ment at  any  time,  it  could  instantly  be  determined  to  what 
concession  it  was  issued  and  the  date  upon  which  it  had  been 
purchased  by  the  customer  from  the  concession,  or  whether 
it  had  never  been  sold  at  all,  but  had  been  taken  from  an 
unbroken  package.  This  subdepartment  also  had  charge 
of  the  force  of  girls  who  opened  the  concession  ticket  boxes, 
counted  such  as  were  desirable  of  the  used  tickets,  looked  all 
used  tickets  over  to  see  that  no  false  or  counterfeit  tickets 
were  in  the  box,  and  finally  turned  them  over  to  the  clerk  in 
the  box  collector's  room,  who  had  charge  of  the  grinding 
machine  which  destroyed  the  used  tickets. 

The  salaries  of  this  subdepartment  were  from  $45  to  $60 
for  clerks  and  ticket  counters;  $100  for  chief  ticket  clerk. 

5.     WAREHOUSE    AND    VAULTS. 

This  subdepartment  was  under  the  charge  of  the  chief 
warehouse  clerk,  who  had  charge  of  the  warehouses.  The 
duties  of  this  subdepartment  were  to  receive  into  the  ware- 
houses concessionaires'  goods,  checking  them  in  and  deliver- 
ing them  to  the  concessionaires  owning  them,  upon  his 
requisition  and  receipt,  and  when  settlement  was  made,  to 
check  back  into  the  warehouse  the  unsold  goods. 

There  were  also  three  safety  deposit  vaults  in  the  larger 
buildings  for  the  use  of  exhibitors  in  those  buildings,  for  the 
purpose  of  storing  jewelry,  money,  or  any  other  valuable 
articles.  They  were  conducted  in  the  ordinary  method  of 
safety  deposit  vaults,  a  small  rent  being  charged  for  the  use 
of  the  boxes.  The  receipts  from  this  business  were  very 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


435 


small,  the  demand  being,  for  some  reason,  very  limited.  It  is 
a  most  favorable  comment  upon  the  good  order  preserved 
and  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  means  used  by  the  Exposition 
to  protect  persons  and  property,  that  these  safety  deposit 
vaults  were  so  little  used  when  the  value  of  the  class  of 
articles  referred  to  was  so  great.  The  vaults  were  in  them- 
selves an  exhibit  of  the  manufacturers  thereof.  The  cost  of 
the  vaults  and  the  expense  of  maintaining  them  was  enor- 
mously large  compared  with  the  receipts,  which,  in  fact,  did 
not  pay  even  the  running  expenses,  to  say  nothing  of  any 
return  on  the  investment.  Of  the  two  vaults  in  the  Manu- 
factures and  Liberal  Arts  Building,  one  was  closed  entirely. 
The  vault  in  the  Mining  Building  was  the  most  liberally 
patronized,  and  paid  some  profit  above  the  running  expense, 
which  profit,  however,  was  more  than  absorbed  by  the  loss 
upon  the  running  expenses  of  the  one  vault  remaining  in 
use  in  the  Manufactures  Building. 

The  salaries  in  this  subdepartment  were  from  $45  to  $60 
for  laborers  and  clerks  ;  $100  for  chief  warehouse  clerk. 

6.   PASS  CLERK'S  OFFICE. 

This  subdepartment  was  under  the  charge  of  the  pass 
clerk  of  this  department,  whose  business  it  was  to  examine 
all  applications  for  passes  made  by  concessionaires  for  them- 
selves and  their  employes,  and  to  approve  the  application  of 
such  as  he  deemed  proper.  This  involved  a  good  deal  of 
disagreeable  controversy  with  the  concessionaires,  who  usu- 
ally took  the  view  that  passes  were  of  no  value;  that  they 
should  be  entitled  to  as  many  as  they  wanted  without  regard 
to  the  use  made  of  them,  proper  or  otherwise,  and  that  they 
were  under  no  obligation  to  the  Exposition  to  return  passes 
of  employes  leaving  their  service. 

It  took  several  weeks  of  hard  work,  and  in  some  cases 
absolute  refusal  to  grant  further  passes  until  the  missing  ones 
were  turned  in,  to  convince  concessionaires  that  they  were 
under  any  obligation  whatever  to  watch  their  passes  and 
control  them  carefully.  Complete  and  accurate  record  was 
kept  by  the  pass  clerk  of  every  pass  approved,  and  a  full  and 
complete  account  was  kept  with  each  concessionaire  of  passes, 
charging  those  issued  and  crediting  those  returned.  This 


436  APPENDIX  "£•." 

involved  accuracy  and  promptness,  as  the  pass  question  was 
an  urgent  one  throughout  the  entire  Exposition. 

There  were  issued  under  the  approval  of  the  Department 
of  Collections  29,695  passes  (including  monthly  and  full  term), 
but  there  were  never  in  use  at  one  time  more  than  16,000 
passes  by  concessionaires  and  their  employes.  The  difference 
is  accounted  for  by  change  of  employes,  the  old  passes  being 
canceled  and  taken  up  and  new  ones  issued  from  time  to  time 
as  required. 

Pass  clerks'  salaries  were  $40  to  $60  for  clerks;  chief  pass 
clerk,  $125. 

7.     DIVISION    SUPERINTENDENTS. 

This  subdepartment  was  under  the  charge  of  the  chief 
division  superintendent.  The  number  of  division  superin- 
tendents was  from  nineteen  to  twenty-nine.  The  grounds 
were  divided  geographically  into  twenty-six  parts  known  as 
divisions.  Each  division  was  in  charge  of  a  superintendent 
whose  business  it  was  each  day  to  visit  every  station  in  his 
division  where  business  was  done,  and  take  the  audit  of  the 
station  upon  blanks  provided  for  the  purpose  by  the  depart- 
ment. This  audit  consisted,  first,  of  a  cash  statement  of  the 
previous  day's  receipts  signed  by  the  concessionaire  or  his 
cashier;  and  secondly,  a  report  of  the  result  of  the  previous 
day's  business  as  shown  by  the  system  established  by  the 
department  and  in  use  at  that  station,  such  as  cash  registers, 
tickets,  etc.  When  each  division  superintendent  had  col- 
lected all  the  audits  in  his  division,  he  turned  them  into  the 
chief  division  superintendent,  who  checked  off  the  list  to  see 
that  all  were  turned  in.  They  were  then  turned  into  the 
chief  clerk,  who  sorted  them  into  concessions;  each  concession 
was  then  checked  up  to  see  that  no  station  pertaining  to  that 
concession  was  missing.  This  being  the  case,  all  was  ready 
to  begin  the  work  of  making  up  the  account  of  each  conces- 
sion for  the  previous  day's  business.  As  an  evidence  of  the 
promptness  and  efficiency  of  this  particular  part  of  the  organ- 
ization, and  that  of  the  office  force,  it  can  be  said  the  business 
completed  at  1 1  o'clock  on  Monday  night,  less  the  cash  paid 
in  up  to  Tuesday  night,  was  shown  by  the  balance  sheet  sent 
to  the  superintendent's  desk  on  Wednesday  morning  at  9 
o'clock,  with  the  exception  of  a  number  of  concessions,  vary- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  437 

ing  from  six  to  ten;  these  few  were  unfinished  because  of  the 
necessity  of  correcting  errors  and  sending  back  audits  for 
completion  to  one  or  two  stations;  also,  the  statements  for 
Monday's  business  were  ready  to  send  out  for  collection  at  8 
o'clock  Wednesday  morning,  and  of  course  this  same  prompt- 
ness was  continued  throughout  the  week.  The  credit  for 
this  promptness  is  to  be  divided  between  the  division  superin- 
tendents and  that  of  the  office  force,  who  necessarily  worked 
very  closely  together.  Either  subdepartment  could  delay 
or  aid  the  work  of  the  other  very  materially. 

Two  or  three  of  the  division  superintendents  were  dis- 
charged during  the  season  upon  suspicion  of  endeavoring  to 
defraud  the  department  by  collusion  with  concessionaires  or 
their  employes,  and  one  or  two  others  for  incompetency,  but 
as  a  rule  the  service  rendered  was  very  satisfactory. 

Their  salaries  were  $60,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two 
who  had  special  division  work  at  $75 ;  the  chief  division  super- 
intendent, $100. 

8.      BOX   COLLECTIONS. 

This  subdepartment  was  under  the  charge  of  the  chief 
box  collector.  Its  duties  were  to  distribute  to  the  stations  the 
boxes  to  receive  the  tickets,  where  tickets  were  used.  These 
boxes  were  white  over  the  entire  ground  one  day  and  black 
the  next,  so  if  the  wrong  color  was  noticed  at  any  station  it 
was  immediately  known  that  this  subdepartment  had  not 
attended  to  such  station  properly  by  changing  the  box. 
Each  box  was  plainly  marked  with  the  number  of  the  con- 
cession, number  of  the  station  pertaining  to  the  concession, 
and  number  of  the  division  to  which  it  belonged,  and  must 
be  delivered  individually  to  the  proper  station. 

The  department  owned  the  boxes  and  the  padlocks 
thereto,  retaining  all  keys  in  its  possession.  As  soon  as  a 
gatekeeper  or  sales  clerk  received  a  ticket  from  a  customer, 
it  must  be  immediately  dropped  into  a  box,  not  held  in  the 
hand  until  a  number  accumulated,  being  very  particular 
that  the  ticket  was  properly  and  immediately  disposed  of. 

Should  the  concessionaire,  for  any  reason,  desire  himself 
to  see  the  tickets  in  any  box  counted,  the  box  was  provided 
with  a  separate  place  to  attach  a  second  padlock,  in  which 
case  it  could  not  be  unlocked  by  the  department  until  the 


438  APPENDIX  "E." 

concessionaire  should  arrive,  when  the  box  would  be  opened 
and  the  tickets  counted  and  examined  in  the  presence  of 
both  parties.  The  box  collectors  would  start  out  with  a  full 
wagon  load  of  empty  white  boxes,  exchanging  them  for  the 
full  black  ones,  which  last  would  be  delivered  to  the  room 
provided  for  the  purpose  at  department  headquarters,  from 
whence  they  would  be  delivered  to  the  ticket-counting  force 
to  unlock,  examine,  and  count  the  tickets.  They  would  then 
be  delivered  to  the  man  in  the  box  department,  who  had 
charge  of  the  grinding  machine  which  destroyed  the  tickets; 
thus  no  tickets  were  used  but  once.  Careful  watch  was  kept 
of  the  tickets  from  the  time  the  box  opened  until  the  tickets 
were  destroyed. 

The  chief  box  collector  kept  accurate  record  of  the 
receipt  and  delivery  of  boxes,  so  that  if  any  concessionaire 
claimed  that  his  box  was  not  delivered  the  record  would  show 
the  facts  at  once.  The  boxes  were  checked  in  as  they 
arrived,  against  the  list  of  each  box  collector,  so  that  omis- 
sion or  neglect  of  duty  were  promptly  made  known,  and  the 
delinquent  box  collector  immediately  dispatched  on  a  special 
trip  to  change  the  box  at  the  neglected  station. 

The  salaries  in  this  subdepartment  were  $60  for  collect- 
ors; $100,  chief  box  collector. 

9.     SECRET    SERVICE. 

This  force  was  comparatively  small,  but  its  value  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  It  was  in  no  way  connected  with 
the  guard  or  the  regular  secret  service  of  the  Exposition, 
but  consisted  of  three  to  five  people,  who  were  exclusively 
in  the  service  of  the  department.  They  were  not  detectives 
by  profession,  as  the  department  could  at  all  times  command 
the  service  of  such  detectives  by  application  to  the  chief  of 
the  regular  secret  service  of  the  Exposition. 

The  persons  selected  for  this  duty  were  ladies  and  gentle- 
men of  good  appearance  who  would  not  be  suspected  of 
being  anything  more  than  ordinary  visitors.  It  was  not  easy 
to  persuade  parties  of  the  proper  appearance  and  character 
to  accept  this  service,  but  this  was  made  less  difficult  by  the 
fact  that  the  members  of  this  secret  service  were  only  known 
to  the  superintendent  and  assistant  superintendent. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  439 

The  service  rendered  by  the  persons  selected  to  perform 
this  exacting  and  difficult  duty  was  as  satisfactory  as  was 
rendered  by  any  subdepartment. 

An  allowance  of  $600  per  month  was  made  to  the  depart- 
ment by  the  Exposition  for  this  service,  and  this  allowance, 
or  such  part  of  it  as  was  necessary,  was  disbursed  by  the 
superintendent  personally,  who  received  and  kept  in  his  own 
possession  all  receipts  and  vouchers.  It  was  expected  that 
the  results  of  this  service  would  be  to  prevent  fraud  rather 
than  to  recover  any  portion  of  the  revenue  of  which  the 
Exposition  might  be  defrauded ;  but  the  evidence  thus 
secured  was  made  use  of  in  some  cases  in  such  manner 
that  the  increased  receipts  were  considerably  greater  than 
the  disbursements  for  this  service  during  the  full  term  of 
the  Exposition. 

The  secret  service  employes  were  instructed,  as  far  as 
was  necessary,  concerning  the  various  systems  in  use,  and 
in  their  travels  throughout  the  grounds  were  directed  to 
report  each  and  every  occurrence  on  the  part  of  sales  clerks 
or  other  parties  receiving  money  or  handling  tickets  which 
appeared  in  the  least  degree  irregular.  Each  case  observed 
was  reported  on  a  separate  slip,  stating  the  number  of  the 
concession,  station,  and  division,  where  a  sign  indicating  the 
same  was  to  be  seen ;  and  stating  exact  location  of  the  stand 
where  no  such  sign  could  be  discovered.  The  following 
points  were  invariably  to  be  shown  in  the  report:  The  exact 
time,  the  date,  the  article  sold,  description  of  the  sales  clerk, 
description  of  the  purchaser,  price  paid,  and  the  amount 
rung  up  or  recorded. 

The  possession  of  this  exact  and  detailed  report  enabled 
the  department  to  refute  denials  of  crooked  work  on  the 
part  of  concessionaires  or  any  employes  who  might  be  dis- 
covered and  reported.  It  was  the  general  practice  of  the 
superintendent  to  get  at  least  three  confirmatory  reports 
concerning  any  one  concession  or  station  before  taking 
action.  The  first  action  taken  was  usually  a  warning;  on 
repetition  of  the  offense,  the  pass  of  the  offending  person 
was  taken  up,  and  often  an  amount,  estimated  to  be  right, 
added  to  the  amount  reported  as  the  gross  receipts  of  that 
station.  In  case  of  many  repetitions  of  the  offense  and 


440 


APPENDIX  "E.n 


the  flagrant  violations  of  the  regulations  and  the  systems, 
the  business  of  the  concession  was  frequently  closed  and 
terms  were  made  before  reopening  was  permitted. 

The  secret  service  reports,  after  being  made  out,  were 
sealed  by  the  employes  in  an  envelope  directed  to  the 
superintendent,  and  were  left  at  a  secret  office  not  at  the 
department  headquarters,  at  which  office  sealed  orders  and 
instructions  were  left  addressed  by  number,  no  name  being 
used,  to  the  various  members  of  the  force.  Each  member 
had  a  special  hour  appointed  to  report  at  this  office,  no  two 
at  the  same  time,  and  at  such  time  as  it  was  necessary  to 
give  special  instructions,  they  were  met  by  the  superin- 
tendent or  assistant  superintendent  for  that  purpose.  The 
beneficial  results  of  this  service  to  the  work  of  the  depart- 
ment resulted  more  largely  from  the  exact  information 
which  their  work  enabled  the  department  to  secure  and  to 
present  to  the  concessionaires — thus  convincing  them  that 
they  were  carefully  watched — .than  in  the  amount  recov- 
ered or  the  value  of  the  reports  themselves. 

When  the  season  was  somewhat  advanced  it  became 
necessary  to  engage  an  employe  who  was  termed  an 
inspector  whose  duty  it  was  to  act  upon  the  information 
thus  obtained,  upon  the  less  important  points ;  the  more 
serious  cases  being  acted  upon  by  special  order  from  the 
headquarters  of  the  department. 

Salaries  of  this  subdepartment  ranged  from  $80  to  $100, 
together  with  the  reimbursement  of  sundry  small  amounts 
which  the  members  of  the  force  were  permitted  to  spend  for 
the  purpose  of  seeing  whether  proper  disposition  and  record 
was  made  of  the  receipt  of  the  money  by  the  concessionaire. 

IO.     MUSIC    HALL    FORCE. 

This  force  was  under  the  control  of  the  music  hall  ticket 
treasurer.  It  had  charge  of  the  sale  of  tickets  and  of  the 
doors  of  the  two  music  halls  and  concert  room  belonging  to 
the  Exposition.  The  business  was  of  actually  the  same 
character  as  that  of  the  treasurer  in  charge  of  a  theater  or 
opera  house.  The  money  received  from  the  sale  of  tickets 
was  turned  in  to  the  cashier  of  the  department  each  day, 
and  a  full  and  complete  account  of  the  tickets  was  kept  and 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  441 

checked  up  carefully.  The  cashier  turned  this  money  in  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  Exposition  separate  from  all  concession 
receipts. 

The  salaries  in  this  subdepartment  were :  Doorkeepers, 
$60 ;  ticket  sellers,  $75  to  $100  ;  ticket  treasurer,  $125. 

II.     MISCELLANEOUS   DUTIES   AND    RECEIPTS. 

In  addition  to  receipts  from  regular  concessionaires  and 
from  the  music  halls,  there  were  various  other  collections  of 
which  the  department  had  charge — the  collection  of  the 
amounts  due  for  removing  garbage,  of  amounts  due  from 
concessionaires  for  tickets  furnished  them,  and  various  other 
small  items  of  this  kind.  There  was  no  separate  subdepart- 
ment for  this  class  of  business,  as  it  was  apportioned  and 
taken  care  of  where  it  could  be  most  economically  done  in 
the  general  organization.  A  table  of  sundry  collections  will 
be  found  on  page  494. 

There  was  one  quite  important  matter  which  it  eventu- 
ally fell  to  the  department  to  care  for;  this  was  the  collection 
of  such  amounts  as  could  be  gotten  from  the  foreign  exhibit- 
ors and  from  other  parties  who  were  selling  without  author- 
ization from  the  Exposition  in  the  foreign  sections  of  the 
various  buildings.  The  authority  was  not  given  to  the 
department  until  very  late  in  the  season,  to  deal  with  this 
matter  so  as  to  enable  it  to  get  even  the  small  amount  which 
the  Exposition  certainly  was  entitled  to,  if  these  people  were 
permitted  to  sell  at  all,  which  it  was  never  intended  they 
should  in  the  original  plan  of  the  Exposition.  The  results 
of  the  attempt  to  collect  from  this  class  of  sales  were  by  no 
means  commensurate  with  the  effort,  and  bore  an  infinitesi- 
mally  small  proportion  to  the  large  amount  of  sales  made. 
The  reason  of  this  will  be  found  under  the  heading,  "  Sales 
in  Foreign  Sections,"  page  492. 

COURSE    OF    BUSINESS   AS   CONDUCTED    BY    THE   DEPARTMENT. 

The  concession  contracts  constituting  the  prircipal  busi- 
ness of  the  department  being  understood,  the  explanation 
of  the  various  systems  of  accounting  being  comprehended, 
the  internal  organization  of  the  department  being  described, 
it  is  proper  at  this  point  to  give  a  synopsis  of  the  "  course  of 


442 


APPENDIX 


business  as  conducted  by  the  department."  This  being  done, 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  work  of  the  department  will  have 
been  presented  which,  it  is  believed,  will  enable  any  one  con- 
versant with  business  of  the  kind  to  understand  thoroughly 
the  methods  and  results  achieved  by  the  department. 

DEALING  WITH  THE  CONCESSIONAIRE  BY 
THE  DEPARTMENT. 

Concession  No.  4,  popularly  known  as  "  Cairo  Street,"  is 
selected  as  an  example  of  the  working  of  the  department  in 
its  dealings  with  concessions.  The  reason  of  this  selection 
is  the  fact  that  this  concession  had  more  stations  than  any 
other,  being  ninety-eight  in  number  at  the  highest  point,  and 
because,  further,  almost  every  system  in  use  by  the  depart- 
ment was  in  operation  in  the  conduct  of  this  concession. 

The  manager  of  the  concession  was  first  notified  to  con- 
sult with  the  superintendent  of  the  department.  Each  class 
of  business  which  the  concession  was  authorized  to  transact 
under  its  contract  was  taken  up  separately,  and  the  method 
of  receiving  and  accounting  for  the  gross  receipts  was  agreed 
upon.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  could  be  accom- 
plished at  one  interview;  it  took  weeks  of  consideration  and 
consultation  to  arrive  at  satisfactory  results,  and  the  results 
arrived  at  were  not  agreed  upon  as  being  absolute  and 
unchangeable  for  the  season,  but  were  subject  to  revision  and 
change  as  experience  might  determine,  and  as  the  parties 
to  the  transaction  might  agree.  Where  it  was  not  possible 
to  come  to  an  agreement  satisfactory  to  both  parties,  the 
department  would  prescribe  the  method  which  must  be 
adopted,  but  these  cases  were  very  few  in  number. 

For  admission  to  the  street  itself  and  for  admission  to  all 
entertainments  inside  the  street,  tickets  (System  No.  i)  were 
adopted. 

For  restaurants,  ticket  system  modified  (System  No.  2), 
and  later  in  the  season  this  was  changed  to  the  restaurant 
system  (System  No.  3). 

For  the  sales  of  goods  in  the  various  booths,  both  cash 
registers  (System  No.  4)  and  duplex  (System  No.  5)  systems 
were  used ;  and  also  a  modification  of  the  warehouse  system 
(System  No.  6),  Cairo  Street  having  warehouses  of  its  own 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


443 


under  the  supervision  of  the  department,  where  all  goods 
were  received  and  were  checked  out  to  the  various  booths. 
This  precaution  was  especially  desirable  to  the  interests  of 
the  Cairo  Street  concession,  as  all  of  its  booths  for  selling 
purposes  were  sublet  to  parties  who  paid  a  percentage  of 
their  sales  to  the  concessionaire  somewhat  larger  than  the 
concession  paid  to  the  Exposition. 

Finally,  accounting  from  the  books  of  the  concession 
(System  No.  7)  was  made  use  of  where  it  appeared  desirable 
to  do  so. 

The  systems  being  agreed  upon  for  each  class  of  busi- 
ness a  report  is  made  by  the  manager  of  the  concession  to 
the  department,  of  each  station  to  be  operated,  its  exact 
location  in  the  concession,  and  its  class  of  business;  these 
stations  are  recorded  by  the  department,  numbering  from 
one  up  to  any  number  desired,  record  kept  of  the  locality, 
the  class  of  business  at  each  station  and  the  percentage  of 
revenue  thereon,  in  a  book  especially  for  that  purpose,  each 
concession  being  kept  separately.  Stations  can  be  added 
from  time  to  time  as  desired,  in  which  case  each  new  station 
takes  the  next  higher  number.  Stations  are  numbered  sepa- 
rately within  each  concession. 

Any  station  can  be  closed  when  desired,  but  notice  must 
be  given  the  department.  Sometimes  if  a  station  is  closed 
and  a  new  one  opened,  the  number  of  the  old  station  is 
transferred  to  the  new,  but  it  is  necessary  to  exercise  great 
care  in  the  case  of  a  transfer  of  a  number,  and  it  is  not 
a  good  plan,  as  confusion  is  apt  to  result.  It  is  better  to 
drop  the  number  and  not  revive  it  unless  the  same  station  is 
revived. 

The  station  being  designated  as  above,  a  white  tin  sign, 
5x8  inches,  lettered  in  red,  is  provided  for  each  station  and 
tacked  up  where  it  can  be  readily  seen  by  all  parties  passing. 


C.  4 
S.  1 

D.  B. 


444 


APPENDIX 


The  C.  is  for  concession,  the  S.  for  station,  the  D.  for  divi- 
sion. These  signs  are  uniform  throughout  the  grounds,  with 
the  exception,  of  course,  of  the  number  of  the  concession, 
station,  and  division.  It  may  be  said  here  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  secret  service  inspectors  and  all  employes  to  report 
any  station  doing  business  where  such  a  sign  is  not  to  be 
seen,  when  it  is  the  duty  of  the  chief  division  superintendent 
to  see  that  the  sign  is  immediately  put  in  place.  It  is  because 
of  the  absence  of  these  signs  that  a  great  number  of  illicit 
sellers  are  known  to  be  such,  and  the  selling  stopped. 

The  station  being  designated,  requisitions  are  made  by 
the  manager  of  the  concession  for  tickets  for  those  stations 
where  the  ticket  system  is  instituted,  and  they  are  furnished 
by  the  department,  each  station  being  charged  with  the 
exact  number  of  tickets  received.  It  is  not  permitted  to 
issue  the  tickets  to  a  concession  all  under  one  charge,  per- 
mitting the  manager  to  distribute  the  tickets  to  such  sta- 
tions as  he  sees  fit.  In  all  cases  the  station  is  the  unit  of 
accounting  with  the  department,  and  its  records  and  ac- 
counts are  invariably  kept  first  against  the  station.  Further 
on  in  the  process  all  station  records  belonging  to  the  same 
concession  are  closed  daily  into  the  account  of  the  conces- 
sion; this  prevents  any  misuse  of  the  tickets,  and  the  de- 
partment can  always  rely  upon  finding  the  proper  tickets 
at  the  proper  station,  and  otherwise  knows  that  either  care- 
lessness or  something  worse  prevails  at  the  station  in  fault. 

Requisitions  are  made  for  cash  registers  for  such  stations 
as  need  them,  which  are  filled  by  the  cash  register  company. 
In  this  concession  (No.  4)  a  warehouseman  is  stationed  per- 
manently by  the  department,  as  it  furnishes  employment 
enough  for  one  man  in  that  capacity,  and,  also,  a  short  time 
after  the  beginning  of  the  season,  a  division  superintendent 
is  assigned  expressly  to  this  concession. 

All  the  necessary  paraphernalia  being  provided  at  each 
station,  and  the  station  signs  being  up,  all  is  ready  for  busi- 
ness, the  day's  business  closing  at  u  o'clock  p.  M.  with  the 
closing  of  the  gates  of  the  Exposition,  although  in  some  few 
cases  customers  remain  later  than  that;  but  this  is  prohib- 
ited as  far  as  possible. 

The  division  superintendent  begins  his  rounds  the  follow- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  445 

ing  morning  as  early  as  it  is  possible  to  find  anyone  at  the 
various  stations.  He  is  provided  with  blank  reports,  sepa- 
rately printed  and  ruled  for  each  system  of  accounting,  and 
duplicates  are  made  out  by  him  at  each  station  in  his  divi- 
sion, one  of  which  is  retained  by  him;  the  other  is  left  at  the 
station.  This  report,  when  complete,  shows  the  cash  receipts 
for  the  day  before  as  stated  by  the  cashier  or  other  employe 
in  charge  of  the  station,  or  by  the  concessionaire  himself,  and 
is  almost  invariably  signed  by  one  of  these  parties.  Below 
this  cash  statement  is  set  forth  the  result  as  shown  by  the 
system  prescribed  by  the  department  for  use  at  that  station. 
The  report,  when  finally  complete,  is  signed  by  the  division 
superintendent;  he  visits  each  station  in  his  division  in  turn, 
making  his  report  for  each  one.  When  all  reports  are  com- 
pleted in  his  division  he  reports  with  them  at  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  department,  generally  between  1 2  and  3  o'clock, 
where  he  looks  them  carefully  over  in  the  room  provided  for 
the  use  of  the  division  superintendents,  seeing  that  he  has 
all  reports  pertaining  to  his  division  or  giving  the  reason  for 
any  missing  ones,  and  as  far  as  possible  correcting  errors 
which  are  apparent  on  the  face  of  the  reports,  if  there  be  any 
such.  He  then  passes  them  in  to  the  chief  division  superin- 
tendent, who  sees  that  all  reports  due  from  him  are  received. 
The  division  superintendent  then  goes  back  to  his  division 
to  see  that  business  is  being  properly  conducted,  systems 
properly  operated,  all  sales  accounted  for,  etc. 

The  chief  division  superintendent  waits  until  all  division 
superintendents  have  reported  and  delivered  their  reports  to 
him ;  he  is  accustomed  to  looking  over  a  number  of  reports 
to  see  that  no  evident  discrepancies  or  errors  exist ;  he  then 
delivers  the  entire  number  (which  varied  from  13,950  during 
May,  when  business  was  very  light,  to  46,500  during  October, 
when  the  highest  point  was  reached)  into  the  charge  of  the 
chief  clerk,  who  gives  them  to  the  clerk  whose  duty  it  is 
to  sort  the  entire  bundle  into  concessions,  arranging  each 
concession  consecutively  according  to  the  numbers  of  the 
stations. 

It  must  be  noted  that  many  concessions,  unlike  Cairo 
Street,  had  stations  in  more  than  one  division;  some  of 
them,  like  the  concessions  for  peanuts,  for  souvenir  spoons, 


446  APPENDIX  "£." 

for  soft  drinks,  etc.,  had  stations  in  nearly  every  division  on 
the  grounds ;  hence  the  reports  necessary  to  complete  one 
concession  statement  might  be  scattered  through  the  entire 
bundle  of  500  to  1,550  reports.  If  any  report  pertaining  to  a 
concession  is  missing,  he  at  once  knows  it  because  of  the 
order  of  the  numbers,  and  it  is  immediately  sent  for,  as  it  is 
impossible  to  make  up  the  statement  for  that  concession  for 
that  day  until  the  reports  of  all  the  stations  pertaining 
thereto  are  in. 

As  fast  as  this  clerk  has  all  reports  for  any  one  conces- 
sion complete,  he  passes  them  over  to  the  clerk  having 
charge  of  all  collections,  figuring  the  percentage,  etc.,  of 
that  particular  concession.  Usually  each  clerk  has  charge 
of  certain  concessions  which  he  deals  with  throughout  the 
season,  as  they  vary  so  largely  in  character,  percentage,  etc., 
that  his  familiarity  with  the  concession  makes  the  work 
more  expeditious;  also,  after  a  short  time,  he  remembers, 
from  the  number  of  the  station,  the  percentage  pertaining 
thereto  without  reference  to  the  station  book.  As  there  are 
many  of  the  concessions  which  pay  several  different  percent- 
ages, the  time  thus  saved  is  a  material  gain. 

The  percentages  being  figured  and  noted  upon  each 
report,  the  same  clerk  makes  a  statement  from  the  reports 
for  that  concession,  upon  which  are  spread,  in  detail  and  in 
numerical  order,  each  station,  its  gross  receipts,  its  percent- 
ages, and  the  amount  of  each  percentage.  This  is  added, 
showing  the  amount  of  the  gross  receipts  and  the  amount  of 
the  revenue  accruing  to  the  Exposition  and  due  from  the 
concessionaire  for  the  day's  business  under  consideration. 

The  station  reports,  with  the  statement  as  above,  are 
pinned  in  one  bundle,  with  the  statement  on  top,  and  the 
whole  is  passed  to  another  clerk,  who  makes  a  copy  of  the 
statement,  which  is  then  delivered  to  the  collector  to  present 
to  the  concessionaire  for  payment.  The  statement  then 
goes  to  the  clerk  whose  duty  it  is  to  enter  it  in  the  large 
concession  book,  which  shows  the  gross  receipts  and  revenue 
from  each  concession  each  day.  The  revenue  column  of 
this  book,  when  finally  corrected  and  added  at  the  end  of 
the  month,  shows  the  full  amount  to  be  credited  on  the: 
department  ledger  for  the  revenue  for  the  month. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  447 

The  statement  then  proceeds  on  its  journey  to  the  hands 
of  the  bookkeeper,  who  posts  in  the  ledger,  against  the 
account  of  the  concession,  the  gross  receipts  and  the  revenue 
due ;  thus  the  office  record  is  complete,  department  errors 
and  omissions  excepted. 

In  case  of  error  claimed  by  the  concessionaire,  such  claim 
will  be  made  to  the  collector  who  presents  the  statement  for 
payment.  It  is  then  returned  to  the  department  and  gone 
over  to  see  if  the  error  is  a  clerical  error  within  the  depart- 
ment; if  so,  it  is  at  once  corrected  all  the  way  through  the 
record,  and  again  sent  out  for  collection.  If  the  error  is  a 
discrepancy  between  the  concessionaire  and  the  department, 
one  of  the  department  traveling  auditors  is  sent  with  the 
entire  record  of  the  day's  business,  including  division  super- 
intendents' reports,  to  the  concessionaire,  the  two  harmonize 
and  agree  upon  the  amount,  when  it  is  returned  to  the 
department,  corrected  throughout  the  record,  and  again  sent 
out  for  collection,  unless  the  traveling  auditor  collects  it  at 
the  time  he  harmonizes  the  account,  which  is  very  frequently 
the  case. 

The  collector's  copies  being  made  out,  are  now  given  to 
the  chief  collector  to  distribute.  The  chief  collector  enters 
each  statement  on  his  collection  sheet,  fuller  reference  to 
which  is  made  under  the  head  of  "Internal  Organization, 
Chief  Collector,"  and  then  distributes  the  statements  to  his 
collectors  to  present  to  the  concessionaires  for  payment. 
This  distribution  is  made  geographically,  as  far  as  possible, 
according  to  the  location  of  the  headquarters  of  each  con- 
cessionaire. The  collectors  receiving  each  his  bundle  of 
statements,  enters  them  immediately  in  his  own  collection 
book  separately,  and  starts  upon  his  collecting  tour.  He 
presents  his  statements,  collects  the  same,  if  possible ;  or,  if 
he  can  not  get  the  entire  amount  for  any  reason,  is  authorized 
to  receive  on  account  whatever  is  offered,  after  making  every 
effort  to  collect  the  full  amount.  He  leaves  the  statement 
with  the  concessionaire,  receipted  in  full  if  paid  in  full ;  with 
the  amount  paid  credited  upon  it  where  an  amount  is  paid 
upon  account,  and  with  no  entry  where  no  amount  is  paid. 

In  by  far  the  greater  number  of  cases  payment  is  made 
daily  in  full,  but  there  are  quite  a  number  of  large  conces- 


448 


APPENDIX 


sions,  perfectly  responsible  and  safe,  which  are  usually 
allowed  to  run  several  days,  not  exceeding  a  week,  collecting 
the  full  amount  at  one  time. 

The  collector  can  receive  checks  drawn  to  the  order  of 
the  treasurer  of  the  Exposition.  Checks  drawn  otherwise 
are  refused.  Each  amount,  as  received  by  the  collector,  if 
it  is  a  payment  in  full,  is  checked  against  the  amount  in  his 
collection  book,  or,  if  it  is  a  payment  on  account,  is  so  noted. 

Returning  to  the  department  headquarters,  he  reports 
first  to  the  chief  collector,  that  he  may  oversee  his  checking 
in  to  the  cashier,  if  he  so  desires.  The  collector  then  reports 
to  the  cashier,  returning  in  the  full  amount  of  his  money, 
which  is  counted,  and  the  amount  agreed  upon  between  the 
collector  and  the  cashier,  and  receipt  given  by  the  cashier  to 
the  collector.  Usually  this  receipt  is  written  in  the  col- 
lector's book,  providing  the  book  checks  up  properly  with 
the  money  paid  to  the  cashier.  The  collector  is  then  relieved 
from  all  responsibility  for  differences  in  cash.  It  occurred 
once  that  the  collector,  turning  in  his  money  to  the  cashier, 
neglected  to  take  a  written  receipt,  and  on  counting  the 
money  there  was  a  difference  of  $10.  The  superintendent 
being  well  convinced  that  neither  party  was  dishonest  in  the 
matter,  persuaded  them  to  divide  the  loss  between  them, 
although,  strictly,  the  collector  should  have  suffered  the  loss, 
as  he  neglected  to  take  a  receipt  at  the  time.  The  collector 
succeeded  in  collecting  $2.50  against  this  amount  from  one 
of  the  concessionaires  whom  he  had  reason  to  believe  was 
$10  short  in  the  money  paid  by  him  that  day,  as  the  collector 
was  careless  in  counting  the  money.  This  is  the  only  dis- 
crepancy that  occurred  throughout  the  season.  One  default 
was  made  by  a  collector,  and  is  more  fully  referred  to  under 
the  head,  "Internal  Organization,  Chief  Collector."  The 
collectors  report  to  the  chief  collector  all  unpaid  statements, 
and  the  chief  collector  personally  takes  them  in  hand,  and 
if  unsuccessful  in  collecting,  refers  them  to  the  superin- 
tendent. 

The  collectors  each  use  two  collection  books  for  alternate 
days,  leaving  one  book  with  the  cashier  at  the  time  the  money 
is  turned  in.  The  cashier,  now  having  possession  of  the  money 
and  of  the  collectors'  books,  enters  the  amounts  in  his  cash 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  449 

book  from  the  collectors'  books  under  the  titles  of  the  con- 
cessions paying  the  money.  All  money  in  the  possession  of 
the  department  is  every  night,  sometimes  oftener,  delivered 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  Exposition,  whose  office  is  in  the  same 
building,  taking  his  receipt  therefor.  This  receipt  is  usually 
written  in  the  cash  book,  which  sets  forth  the  amounts  in 
detail,  and  also  the  total,  which,  of  course,  agrees  with  the 
money  delivered  to  the  treasurer.  The  cashier  uses  two  cash 
books  for  alternate  days,  so  that  one  can  be  in  use  by  him  and 
the  other  can  be  in  the  possession  of  the  bookkeeper  from 
which  to  post  the  receipts. 

The  bookkeeper  now  receives  from  the  cashier  the  cash 
book  properly  receipted  from  the  treasurer,  and  from  this 
cash  book  the  items  are  posted  to  the  credit  of  the  various 
concessions.  Thus  the  debits  to  each  concession,  as  far  as  the 
statements  are  completed,  are  fully  entered,  and  the  credits 
for  all  amounts  of  cash  received  from  each  concession  are  also 
entered ;  the  balance,  which  is  carried  out  each  day  in  the 
ledger  after  the  manner  of  bank  bookkeeping,  showing  the 
amount  due  by  the  concession.  This,  balance  is  never  quite 
up  to  date  for  the  reason  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  the  state- 
ments complete  sooner  than  thirty-six  hours,  as  the  business 
finished  Monday  night  at  1 1  o'clock  can  not  be  collated  and 
entered  in  the  ledger  until  Tuesday  night;  the  cash  paid  in 
Tuesday  is  credited  also  Tuesday  night,  so  that  the  cash  pay- 
ments are  posted  up  to  a  date  twenty-four  hours  later  than 
the  statement,  but  as  the  last  cash  payment  must  necessarily 
apply  on  the  previous  day's  business  or  before,  the  balance 
on  any  one  morning  shows  exactly  the  amount  due  for  all 
business  ending  thirty-six  hours  previously;  that  is,  Wednes- 
day morning's  balance  sheet,  which  is  invariably  sent  to  the 
superintendent's  desk  by  9  o'clock,  shows  the  exact  amount 
due  from  each  concession  for  the  business  transacted  up  to 
1 1  o'clock  Monday  night. 

Statements  are  made  each  day  to  the  auditor  of  the 
Exposition  of  the  amounts  collected  from  each  concession, 
the  auditor  keeping  a  separate  account  with  each  conces- 
sionaire. This  double  expense  seems  unnecessary,  as  the 
books  of  the  department  are  under  the  supervision  and  con- 
trol of  the  auditor's  office  to  any  extent  that  he  desires,  and 

29 


450 


APPENDIX 


when  information  is  wanted  in  detail  in  the  auditor's  office 
as  to  concession  accounts,  he  invariably  comes  to  the  books 
of  the  department  to  procure  it,  so  that  it  would  seem  to  be 
an  unnecessary  labor  to  keep  the  individual  accounts  with 
the  concessionaires  in  the  auditor's  office.  Had  the  depart- 
ment been  independent,  it  would  have  been  very  desirable 
that  the  auditor  should  have  an  absolute  check  by  keeping 
account  individually  with  each  concessionaire,  but  really  the 
books  of  the  Department  of  Collections  are  simply  an  adjunct 
of  the  auditor's  office,  although,  of  course,  kept  independently 
under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent  as  to  all  details. 

COST   OF    COLLECTIONS. 

The  total  expense  of  conducting  the  department  as  shown 
by  the  report  of  the  auditor  of  the  Exposition,  April  4, 
1894,  was $  98,130  63 

The  amount  collected  in  cash  from  concessionaires  on 

account  of  percentage  was 3,374,482  28 

From  sales  in  foreign  sections 12,816  81 

Traveling  cranes 10,219  90 

Foreign  craft  landing  at  piers,  wharfage  charges 477  35 

Garbage  removal 1,083  82 

Safety  deposit  vaults 657  17 

Dairy  receipts 6,450  92 

This  account  was  for  receipts  from  the  milk,  but- 
ter, etc. ,  which  were  the  product  of  the  Dairy  Exhibit 
of  the  Exposition. 

Guide  corps 588  00 

This  was  received  from  fees  paid  the  guides  by 
visitors. 
Musichalls .  62,71860 


Total  $3,469,49485 

Percentage  of  cost  based  upon  the  actual  cash  col- 
lections figured  as  above  was  2.82  per  cent. 

The  total  amount  of  the  revenue  of  the  Exposition  accru- 
ing from  percentages  of  concessions  was 4,237,563  95 

Collected  from  sales  in  foreign  sections 12,816  81 

From  other  sources  (as  above) 82,195  76 

Total  $4,332,57652 

The  cost  of  making  the  audit  of  this  amount  was 
2.26  per  cent. 

The  gross  receipts  of  the  concessions  were  $16,583,051.53. 

The  method  of  ascertaining  the  amount  of  these  gross 
receipts  and  of  collecting  the  same  from  the  customers  was 
prescribed  by  the  department. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


451 


The  cost  of  establishing,  maintaining,  and  conducting  the 
operations  necessary  to  control  these  gross  receipts  was  .59 
per  cent. 

Table  of  gross  receipts  will  be  found  at  page  474. 


CASH  COLLECTIONS  AND  EQUIVALENT  TO  CASH. 

In  addition  to  the  cash  collections  as  above,  page  477, 

amounting  to $3,469,494  85 

There  are  the  following  amounts  which  are  the  same 
as  cash  to  the  Exposition,  but  which  were  collected  in 
a  different  manner: 

Allowed  by  the  Adjustment  Committee  to  concessionaires 

because  of  claims  for  damages,  etc _ _.        203,019  02 

This  amount  was  rebated  from  the  accruing  percent- 
ages which  otherwise  the  department  would  have  col- 
lected in  cash  and  turned  in  to  the  treasurer,  in  which 
case  the  damage  allowed  would  have  been  paid  by 
vouchers  on  the  treasurer.  It  is  therefore  equivalent 
to  a  cash  collection  made  by  the  department.  Table 
of  these  amounts  will  be  found  at  page  477. 

Allowance  to  concessions  on  account  of  construction 251 ,431  16 

These  allowances  were  provided  for  in  some  of  the 
concession  contracts,  and  were  for  such  purposes  as 
building  the  Jackson  Park  pier,  Wellington  Catering 
Company  kitchen,  Marine  Cafe,  and  some  other  build- 
ings, and  was  arranged  in  this  way,  the  concessionaires 
paying  the  cost  of  the  buildings,  piers,  etc.,  which 
they  then  deducted  from  the  first  percentage  accruing, 
otherwise  the  Exposition  would  have  been  compelled 
to  disburse  the  money  for  the  cost  of  the  piers,  build- 
ings, etc.,  collecting  the  percentages  as  usual.  The 
department  is  therefore  entitled  to  credit  for  this  as 
being  the  same  as  a  cash  collection.  Table  of  these 
allowances  will  be  found  at  page  479. 

Advance  payments  on  account  of  concessions 82,079  66 

These  payments  were  deposits  made  with  the  treas- 
urer when  the  contract  was  signed,  and  were  to  be 
applied  on  final  settlement  of  percentages  accruing. 
The  department  would  therefore  have  collected  the 
amount  toward  the  end  of  the  season  in  due  course  of 
its  work,  instead  of  which  at  the  close  of  the  season  it 
credited  such  concessionaires  as  had  deposits  with  the 
treasurer  with  the  amount  thereof.  This,  therefore, 
should  justly  be  considered  as  a  cash  collection.  Table 
of  these  amounts  will  be  found  at  page  478. 

Total  collections,  cash  or  its  equivalent $4,006,024  69 

The  cost  of  the  collection  of  the  above  was  2.44  per  cent. 

The  number  of  employes  in  the  department  during  the 
active  six  months  of  the  Exposition  varied  from  157  during 
May  to  241  in  July,  during  which  month  the  number  was 
the  greatest;  after  that  time  the  number  was  largely  reduced 


452  APPENDIX  "£." 

because  the  change  in  the  restaurant  systems  reduced  the 
number  of  ticket  receivers  from  115  to  22. 

The  average  monthly  compensation  throughout  the  de- 
partment, exclusive  of  the  superintendent  and  the  assist- 
ant superintendent,  was  $57.76.  This  average  of  compen- 
sation is  lower  than  that  of  any  department  or  class  of 
service  in  the  Exposition  except  ethnology,  $57.09;  janitor 
service,  $45.52;  guides,  $31.76;  photographical  expenses, 
$56.34;  Womans'  Building,  $50.68. 

All  figures  for  salary  are  taken  from  the  reports  of  the 
auditor  of  the  Exposition  during  the  season,  which  are  aver- 
aged to  obtain  the  results  shown  above. 

RECAPITULATION  OF  THE  COST  OF  COLLECTIONS. 

From  page  450,  upon  actual  cash  collected 2.82  per  cent. 

From  page  451,  collections  in  cash  or  equivalent  to  cash  ..2.44  per  cent. 

From  page  450,  revenue  accruing  from  concessions 2.26  per  cent. 

From  page  451 ,  gross  receipts  of  the  concessions 59  per  cent. 

COUNTERFEIT  MONEY. 

The  amount  of  counterfeit  money  received  by  the  depart- 
ment was  exceedingly  small  considering  the  amount  of  cash 
which  passed  through  its  hands.  Under  this  heading  are 
included,  also,  clipped  and  perforated  coins  and  all  other 
money  not  readily  receivable  or  easily  passed.  The  total 
amount  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  department  at  the 
close  of  the  Exposition  was  $18,  which,  on  the  total  cash  col- 
lections of  $3,374,482.28,  was  too  small  an  amount  to  be  even 
taken  into  consideration.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  col- 
lectors employed  by  the  Exposition  were  largely  young  men 
of  no  great  amount  of  experience,  it  was  very  remarkable 
that  a  much  larger  amount  of  counterfeit  and  defaced  money 
was  not  received.  A  certain  amount  of  this  bad  money  also 
was  received  through  the  medium  of  the  slot  machines, 
where  of  course  no  judgment  could  be  passed  upon  it.  The 
counterfeit  money  from  the  slot  machines  was  divided 
between  the  department  and  the  concessionaire  on  the  same 
percentage  basis  as  the  good  money.  As  the  contracts  called 
for  certain  percentage  of  the  gross  receipts,  and  inasmuch 
as  the  concessionaire  could  not  exercise  his  judgment  in 
receiving  the  money  as  it  was  passed  into  the  machines,  the 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


453 


department  considered  it  only  fair  to  receive  its  proportion 
of  the  bad  money. 

In  the  case  of  ordinary  concessions,  however,  while  the 
contracts  read  that  the  Exposition  should  receive  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  gross  receipts,  the  view  was  taken  that  as 
the  concessionaire  or  his  employe  received  and  could  exam- 
ine the  money,  that  they  should  be  responsible  for  bad 
money  passed  upon  them,  and  should  pay  the  department 
in  good  money  the  Exposition  percentage  of  the  entire 
receipts. 

ADJUSTMENT  COMMITTEE. 

As  early  as  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  it  was  apparent 
to  the  superintendent  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  collect 
revenue  from  a  large  number  of  concessions,  especially  many 
of  those  upon  the  Plaisance,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  a 
great  amount  of  dissatisfaction  and  many  claims  of  damage, 
mostly  exhorbitant,  but  still  largely  based  upon  some  founda- 
tion; because  of  the  failure  of  the  Exposition  to  supply  elec- 
tric lights  according  to  contracts  for  that  purpose  ;  because 
of  the  condition  of  the  roads  deterring  many  visitors  from 
making  an  attempt  to  get  to  some  concessions,  and  because  of 
some  other  minor  causes. 

A  claim  for  damage,  which  was  merely  a  claim,  and  not 
definite  and  determinable  as  to  the  just  amount,  was,  of 
course,  no  offset  against  the  determined  debt  accruing  to  the 
Exposition  each  day  because  of  percentages  under  a  definite 
contract,  still  there  was  justice  in  many  of  the  claims,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  convince  the  concessionaires  who  were 
aggrieved,  and  whose  business  was  really  suffering  because 
of  the  causes  referred  to,  that  it  was  right  that  they  should 
pay  their  percentages.  Lawsuits  meant  delay,  hanging  up 
all  revenue  for  the  time  being,  and,  possibly,  depriving  the 
department  of  its  authority  to  prescribe  methods,  etc.,  which 
actually  happened  later  in  the  season  in  the  case  of  conces- 
sions which  went  into  the  hands  of  receivers  or  other  officers 
of  the  court. 

Therefore,  it  was  necessary  that  the  Exposition  should 
appoint  some  representative  which  would  recognize  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  just  basis  for  some  of  these  claims,  although 


454 


APPENDIX 


not  always  to  the  full  amount,  and  which  should  have  power 
not  only  to  confer  but  also  to  reach  a  positive  agreement  in 
all  cases  where  it  was  possible,  and  to  act,  thus  arriving  at  a 
final  settlement  of  the  matters  at  issue. 

The  superintendent  presented  his  views  to  the  Exposition 
authorities,  and  the  Executive  Committee  appointed  an  "Ad- 
justment Committee,"  consisting  of  three,  and  afterward  four, 
directors  of  the  Exposition  to  take  charge  of  this  matter, 
with  power  to  act.  The  superintendent  gave  them  the  use  of 
a  room  at  the  headquarters  of  the  department  connecting 
directly  with  his  private  office,  and  placed  at  their  disposal 
all  the  facilities  of  the  department  for  getting  information, 
facts  and  figures. 

This  committee  was  in  session  constantly  for  nearly  the 
entire  period  of  the  Exposition,  there  being  hardly  a  day  but 
at  least  one  member  of  the  committee,  and  usually  three, 
were  present,  and  working  upon  the  many  varied  and  com- 
plicated propositions  and  claims  brought  to  their  attention. 

As  the  season  progressed  questions  arose  which  had 
not  been  contemplated  at  the  beginning,  complicating  and 
rendering  more  onerous  not  only  the  burdens  of  the  com- 
mittee, but  of  the  department.  Probably  the  hardest  matters 
to  adjust  and  to  agree  upon  with  concessionaires  arose  from 
the  protection  of  the  so-called  "exclusive  concessions."  The 
question  as  to  how  many  customers  an  entertainment  had 
lost  during  a  certain  number  of  hours  when  they  did  not 
have  electric  light  was  comparatively  easy  to  estimate,  using 
the  attendance  through  the  gates  as  a  basis  each  day ;  but 
such  questions  as  to  how  far  the  concessionaire  who  had  the 
contract  for  the  exclusive  sale  of  souvenir  spoons  was  being 
damaged  because  others  were  selling  spoons  upon  the 
grounds,  souvenir  or  otherwise,  and  as  to  how  far  the  con- 
cessionaire holding  the  contract  for  the  exclusive  sale  of 
oriental  goods  was  damaged  because  of  a  similar  reason,  were 
next  to  impossible  to  determine. 

The  conclusion  unanimously  arrived  at  by  the  members 
of  the  committee  and  the  superintendent  was  that  exclusive 
concessions  are  an  unmitigated  nuisance,  and  never  should 
be  granted  except  in  a  very  few  cases,  which  are  set  forth  at 
more  detail  under  the  heading  "  Exclusive  Concessions." 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  455 

The  department  worked  harmoniously  with  the  com- 
mittee, and  the  results  accomplished,  in  view  of  the  difficult 
conditions,  were  very  remarkable.  Almost  all  cases  of  dis- 
pute were  adjusted  by  the  joint  efforts  of  the  committee 
and  the  superintendent  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  complain- 
ant, and  in  almost  all  cases  to  the  profit  of  the  Exposition. 

There  was  something  of  a  bitter  feeling  on  the  part  of 
many  of  the  concessionaires  toward  the  Exposition  because 
of  failure  to  supply  lights,  to  put  roads  in  good  condition, 
etc.,  and  everything  possible  was  done  by  the  joint  efforts  of 
the  Adjustment  Committee  and  of  the  department  to  allay 
this  feeling,  and  with  a  very  great  degree  of  success.  The 
committee  used  its  influence,  which,  of  course,  was  great,  to 
rectify  abuse  where  the  Exposition  was  at  fault,  to  put  lights 
and  roads  in  order  as  fast  as  possible,  and  in  all  cases  gave  a 
patient  and  careful  consideration  to  the  complaints  brought 
before  them ;  at  the  same  time  never  losing  sight  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  their  duty  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Expo- 
sition. 

There  were  various  other  matters  also  in  charge  of  this 
committee,  such  as  construing  contracts  where  amounts  to 
be  allowed  the  concessionaire  for  construction  were  indefi- 
nite, or  where  the  contracts  were  construed  differently  by 
the  department  and  by  the  concessionaire. 

The  importance  of  this  committee  as  an  aid  to  the  work 
of  the  department,  and  its  beneficial  results  to  the  finance 
and  to  the  general  conduct  of  the  Exposition,  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  The  general  plan  upon  which  it  was  organ- 
ized and  its  method  of  work  must  also  be  highly  recom- 
mended. A  committee  of  few  members,  it  was  enabled  to 
consult  with  concessionaires,  to  confer  within  itself,  and  to 
decide  momentous  questions  without  confusion,  and  with  a 
degree  of  celerity  which  would  have  been  impossible  with  a 
larger  body;  being  almost  constantly  in  session,  its  con- 
sideration of  affairs  was  consecutive,  and  therefore  more 
intelligent  than  would  have  been  possible  with  a  larger 
committee,  meeting  only  occasionally,  and  the  meetings 
being  attended  by  different  members  at  different  times; 
being  composed  of  men  of  wide  business  experience,  it  was 
able  to  grapple  with  any  and  all  questions  submitted  to  it ; 


456  APPENDIX  "£"." 

and  being  composed  of  men  of  broad  views  it  was  able  to 
consider  fairly  the  other  side  of  the  question. 

The  superintendent  has  never  known  an  unpaid  com- 
mittee of  directors  to  work  as  industriously  and  conscien- 
tiously as  did  this  committee  during  the  six  months  of  his 
intimate  association  with  them.  A  detailed  account  of  their 
labors  and  its  result  will  be  found  in  the  report  of  the 
Adjustment  Committee  itself.  (Exposition  files,  Field  Co- 
lumbian Museum.) 

UNAUTHORIZED  SALES. 

A  large  number  of  peddlers,  gripsack  salesmen,  and  others 
who  had  no  concession,  undertook  to  sell  in  the  grounds  and 
buildings  at  various  times.  There  was  more  or  less  annoy- 
ance and  trouble  from  this  source  the  entire  season.  The 
rules  prohibited  peddling  of  any  nature  except  of  a  very  few 
articles,  the  nature  of  which  rendered  it  desirable  that  visit- 
ors could  procure  them  readily.  These  articles  were  guides, 
catalogues,  and  a  very  few  others. 

The  usual  method  pursued  with  the  peddlers  and  small 
sellers  of  this  class  was  to  escort  them  outside  the  gate, 
together  with  their  goods.  There  was  very  seldom  serious 
objection  to  this  on  the  part  of  the  peddling  element. 

There  was  another  class  of  unauthorized  sellers,  who 
would  by  some  manipulation  get  small  spaces  in  the  build- 
ings to  sell  from.  These  spaces  were  more  easily  gotten  in 
the  foreign  sections  than  elsewhere,  and  often  the  sellers  in 
such  sections  would  endeavor  to  protect  themselves  under 
the  cloak  of  the  foreign  commissioner  in  whose  section  their 
operations  were  carried  on.  Where  these  people  were  not 
of  the  nation  represented  by  the  section  they  were  in,  and 
were  not  selling  articles  characteristic  of  or  produced  by 
that  nation,  the  usual  course  was  to  load  their  material  and 
merchandise  into  a  patrol  wagon  and  either  take  it  out- 
side the  gates,  where  they  could  take  possession  of  it  if  they 
desired,  or  take  it  to  the  headquarters  of  the  department, 
where  it  was  delivered  to  them  when  they  had  agreed  to 
take  it  from  the  grounds,  which  course  the  department 
enforced  by  providing  an  escort,  who  saw  the  goods  safely 
outside  the  gates. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  457 

In  these  cases  resistance  was  frequently  met  with,  and 
often  a  very  lively  little  fracas  would  ensue,  but,  as  a  rule, 
sales  of  this  character  were  fairly  well  controlled.  Consider- 
able aid  was  given  by  the  men  at  the  wagon  gates,  who  would, 
as  far  as  possible,  inspect  goods,  packages,  etc.,  brought  into 
the  grounds,  excluding  such  as  seemed  contraband  until  a 
permit  could  be  secured  from  the  proper  authorities  to  bring 
in  the  goods. 

There  was  another  class  of  unauthorized  sales  which 
were  conducted  by  concessionaires  who  would  sometimes 
sell  goods  and  transact  other  business  to  which  they  were 
not  entitled  under  the  term  of  their  contract.  In  those  cases 
the  offender  was  usually  warned,  and  if  the  warning  did  not 
receive  prompt  attention,  sometimes  the  goods  would  be 
confiscated  by  the  department,  temporarily,  until  such  time 
as  the  offender  should  agree  to  take  them  from  the  grounds 
and  not  to  place  them  on  sale,  and  sometimes  the  station 
offending  would  be  closed  entirely  until  the  proper  guaran- 
tee should  be  given  that  the  offense  should  cease. 

The  class  of  unauthorized  sales  which  caused  the  greatest 
annoyance  and  loss  to  the  Exposition,  except  sales  in  foreign 
sections,  were  those  of  goods  which  were  in  direct  conflict 
with  some  exclusive  concession.  It  was  harder  to  deal  with 
this  class  of  unauthorized  sales  than  any  other  except  in 
foreign  sections,  because  it  was  almost  impossible  to  con- 
vince the  seller  that  the  concessionaires  owning  an  exclusive 
right  to  sell  such  articles  must  be  protected,  and  that  it  was 
not  an  injustice  that  the  seller  should  not  be  permitted  to 
sell  them.  The  most  notable  contests  of  the  department 
over  unauthorized  sales  were  because  of  this  class.  Other 
reference  will  be  made  to  this  matter  under  the  head  of 
"  Exclusive  Concessions." 

SALES  IN  FOREIGN  SECTIONS. 

It  was  not  contemplated  in  the  original  plan  of  the  Expo- 
sition that  exhibitors,  native  or  foreign,  should  se1!  from  their 
exhibits  for  immediate  delivery,  except  in  those  cases  where 
a  concession  was  granted  covering  the  privilege  of  selling;  in 
such  cases,  regular  concession  contracts  would  be  entered 
into  between  the  Exposition  and  the  party  desiring  to  sell, 


458  APPENDIX  "£•." 

which  would  compel  him  to  deal  with  the  Exposition  in  his 
capacity  of  a  concessionaire  separately  and  distinctly  from 
his  capacity  as  an  exhibitor. 

The  superintendent  has  reason  to  believe,  from  many 
things  that  came  under  his  observation,  that  there  was  a 
pretty  thorough  organization  among  a  certain  number  of 
foreign  commissioners  to  allow  such  sales  in  the  sections  ap- 
portioned to  their  various  governments,  and  to  protect  the 
sellers  by  every  means  in  their  power  from  being  compelled 
to  pay  any  revenue  to  the  Exposition  for  the  privilege  of 
selling. 

Every  possible  means  was  resorted  to  which  would  cause 
delay,  that  the  Exposition  might  not  promptly  enforce  its 
claims,  in  some  instances  exhibits  being  covered  by  the 
foreign  commissioner  with  the  flag  of  his  country,  threats 
being  made  that  if  the  flag  were  interfered  with  international 
complications  would  result. 

There  is  positive  evidence  that  in  some  instances  foreign 
commissioners  received  money  from  persons  desiring  to  sell 
in  the  sections  apportioned  to  their  governments  for  the  priv- 
ilege of  so  doing.  This  evidence  consisted  of  receipts  for 
money  paid,  signed  by  the  commissioner  and  delivered  to  the 
other  party  to  the  transaction.  About  the  ist  of  September 
the  department  was  endowed  with  the  authority  to  collect, 
on  account  of  such  sales,  such  money  as  it  might  be  able. 

This  authority,  however,  did  not  give  the  department 
power  of  taking  peremptory  measures  in  the  case  of  refusal 
to  pay,  and  the  only  method  by  which  anything  was  col- 
lected was  by  exercising  the  power  of  persuasion,  some 
threatening,  or  any  measure  short  of  actual  force  which  it 
would  appear  would  produce  the  desired  result. 

Under  this  very  limited  authority  there  was  collected 
from  this  source  $12,816.18,  which  was  perhaps  one-fortieth 
part  of  what  should  have  been  collected  had  these  sellers 
been  compelled  to  pay  a  reasonable  percentage  or  consid- 
eration to  the  Exposition. 

The  method  by  which  the  department  succeeded  in  col- 
lecting the  small  amounts  above  from  such  sales  was  this : 
Consultation  was  first  held  with  the  foreign  commissioner 
representing  the  section  to  be  dealt  with,  and  an  agreement 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


459 


was  made  that  the  seller  should  pay  a  fixed  amount  per  day, 
ranging  from  $2  to  $10. 

A  permit  was  then  given  by  the  department  to  this  seller, 
and  the  amount  was  collected  daily,  just  as  in  the  case  of 
other  audits.  There  was  no  accounting,  hence  no  way  of 
getting  at  the  gross  receipts,  which,  therefore,  can  not  be 
estimated.  It  is  known  that  the  amount  was  very  large,  and 
the  superintendent  believes  that  had  perfect  regulations 
been  established  before  the  beginning  of  the  Exposition, 
from  four  to  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  revenue  would 
have  accrued  to  the  Exposition  from  this  source. 

The  number  of  permits  granted  covering  this  class  of 
business  was  138. 

The  superintendent's  opinion  as  to  the  best  method  of 
handling  sales  of  this  character  is  given  under  the  heading, 
"  Plans  for  Sales  of  Articles  in  Exhibits." 

A  table  of  exhibitors'  sales  will  be  found  on  page  492. 

ENFORCEMENT  OF  REGULATIONS. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  rules  and  regulations 
established  by  the  Exposition  through  its  numerous  depart- 
ments, for  the  regulations  of  the  business  and  personal  con- 
duct of  a  permanent  population  of  30,000  people,  which  is 
about  the  average  daily  pass  attendance  of  people  constantly 
employed  within  the  grounds,  and  of  an  additional  floating 
population  averaging  110,000  daily,  would  be  observed  by 
the  free  will  of  the  persons  to  be  controlled,  but  that  means 
must  be  devised  to  enforce  regulations  when  necessary. 

The  rules  and  regulations  which  it  fell  to  this  department 
to  enforce  were  such  as  related  to  concessionaires,  concessions, 
and  sales  of  all  kinds,  authorized  or  unauthorized,  within  the 
Exposition  grounds. 

The  physical  force  necessary  to  enforce  order  was  fur- 
nished by  the  Columbian  Guard  upon  the  request  of  the 
department,  as  the  superintendent  and  assistant  superintend- 
ent each  had  and  carried  with  them  a  special  order  to  the 
Columbian  Guard  to  act  under  their  direction  at  all  times. 
In  addition  to  this,  there  was  a  general  order  to  the  guard  to 
enforce  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  department  and  to 
act  in  harmony  with  it. 


460  APPENDIX  "E." 

The  usual  method  of  enforcing  regulations  of  the  depart- 
ment in  concessions  was  by  closing  up  the  offending  conces- 
sion, which  usually  resulted  in  terms  being  made  immediately 
or  very  shortly  by  the  concessionaire. 

Great  care  was  exercised  by  the  department  that  closing 
up  should  not  be  resorted  to  except  for  sufficient  cause,  which 
cause  must  be  established  by  perfect  evidence.  The  guards 
sometimes,  but  not  often,  met  with  resistance.  The  worst 
element  to  deal  with,  both  as  to  disregard  of  regulations  and 
as  to  their  enforcement,  were  the  foreigners,  and  especially 
the  orientals,  although  the  most  important  physical  contest 
that  took  place  was  in  the  German  Village,  between  the 
imported  German  waiters  and  the  guard. 

When  an  adjustment  of  trouble  because  of  disregard  of 
regulations  was  arrived  at,  the  Americans  could  usually  be 
depended  upon  to  abide  by  it,  but  this  was  not  the  case  with 
the  largest  part  of  the  foreign  element. 

VOIDING    CONTRACTS. 

In  a  very  few  instances  it  became  necessary  to  serve 
notice  on  the  concessionaire  voiding  his  contract,  which  was 
one  of  the  rights  reserved  by  the  Exposition  in  the  case  of 
violation  of  the  terms  thereof.  In  these  cases  an  adjustment 
was  usually  arrived  at  immediately  and  the  business  per- 
mitted to  continue. 

The  department  met  with  as  much  success  in  enforcing 
regulations  as  could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances 
and  considering  the  ground  to  be  covered. 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS  BASED  ON   EXPERIENCE  OF 
THE   DEPARTMENT. 

There  are  some  general  conclusions  which  the  superin- 
tendent has  derived  from  the  experience  of  the  department, 
which  it  is  proper  should  appear  in  this  report,  as  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Exposition  requested  that  the  report  should  be 
not  merely  a  bare  statement  of  the  business  transacted  by 
the  department,  but  also  a  history  of  that  business,  and  that 
it  should  also  contain  the  results  of  this  experience  and  the 
conclusions  deduced  therefrom,  in  such  form,  if  possible,  as 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  461 

to  be  of  use  to  future  expositions.  Many  of  these  conclu- 
sions appear  throughout  the  report  under  the  various  head- 
ings to  which  they  more  properly  pertain,  such  as  the  objec- 
tions to  exclusive  concessions,  the  objections  to  permitting 
sales  in  the  exhibition  buildings,  etc.  While  possibly  some 
part  of  the  following  observations  might  better  have  appeared 
under  such  separate  headings,  and  some  may  be  duplicated, 
the  superintendent  has  thought  it  better  that  they  should 
appear  here  than  to  be  omitted  entirely, 

GRANTING   OF   CONCESSIONS. 

This  duty  was  entrusted  by  the  Exposition  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means,  consisting  of  a  large  number  of 
directors,  and  too  much  praise  can  not  be  accorded  to  the 
gentlemen  constituting  the  committee  and  to  the  chairman 
thereof,  for  the  earnest  and  conscientious  manner  in  which 
this  work  was  performed.  The  view  which  they  took  of 
their  duty  in  the  premises  was  most  certainly  an  exalted  one, 
as  they  gave  as  much  (or  more)  attention  to  preserving  the 
dignity  of  the  Exposition  as  to  granting  concessions  merely 
for  the  sake  of  obtaining  revenue.  But  in  spite  of  the  great 
care  taken  some  few  concessions  were  granted,  in  the  con- 
fusion inevitably  attending  the  action  of  a  large  committee, 
which  slightly  detracted  from  the  high  moral  standing  of  the 
Exposition,  but  all  such  errors  were  of  a  minor  nature,  and 
were  the  result  of  inadvertent  errors,  and  most  certainly 
not  because  of  any  intent  to  that  end  on  the  part  of  any  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  committee. 

A  committee  of  this  kind  was  necessary  to  finally  pass 
upon  and  approve  concession  contracts,  as  such  a  committee 
is  the  only  means  by  which  a  corporation  with  a  large  direc- 
tory can  act  intelligently  and  legally.  It  is  not  desirable  to 
entrust  the  final  approval  of  such  contracts  to  any  individual, 
no  matter  how  honest  or  able  he  may  be.  But  this  com- 
mittee should  have  been  authorized  to  engage  a  man  of  wide 
business  experience,  of  broad  views,  and  of  unquestioned 
integrity,  to  give  his  undivided  time  and  attention  to  the 
concession  business,  subject  to  final  revision  and  approval  of 
his  conclusions  by  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 
It  would  have  been  better,  perhaps,  that  this  man  should 


462  APPENDIX  "£." 

also  have  had  charge  of  the  collections  tinder  the  contracts 
which  he  had  been  the  means  of  creating. 

It  is  impossible  that  a  committee,  meeting  no  matter  how 
frequently,  no  one  of  whom  gives  his  entire  time  and  atten- 
tion to  the  multifarious  matters  under  consideration,  could 
act  as  consecutively  and  with  as  thorough  understanding  of 
all  details  as  a  single  man  who  devotes  his  attention  to  noth- 
ing else,  and  in  fact  the  committee  found  it  necessary  to  have 
present  at  these  meetings,  not  only  the  chairman  and  the  paid 
secretary,  who  gave  his  entire  time  to  the  business,  but  also 
an  attorney,  who  became  a  permanent  attache  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

Had  the  course  suggested  been  pursued,  a  great  deal  of 
the  unfortunate  crossing  of  concessions,  and  especially  of  ex- 
clusive concessions,  might  have  been  avoided  ;  the  contracts 
would  have  been  more  uniform,  and  many  minor  points, 
which,  however,  were  of  much  importance  to  the  successful 
carrying  out  and  operating  of  the  contracts,  would  not  have 
been  overlooked.  In  view  of  all  the  circumstances  the  re- 
markable thing  is  that  so  few  mistakes  were  made  and  that 
the  results  accomplished  were  so  satisfactory. 

SPACE    FOR   CONCESSIONS. 

The  superintendent  is  unalterably  opposed  to  allowing 
any  sales  in  the  exhibition  buildings  proper,  except  of  a  very 
few  articles  really  necessary  to  the  comfort  and  convenience 
of  visitors,  as  set  forth  in  "  Plan  for  Sales  of  Articles  in  Ex- 
hibits," page  464.  The  reasons  for  this  opposition  are  also 
given  under  the  same  heading. 

But  allowing  that  it  is  determined  that  such  sales  shall  be 
permitted,  and  that  concession  contracts  covering  such  sales 
are  granted,  very  different  arrangements  from  those  obtain- 
ing at  the  Exposition  should  be  made  for  providing,  appor- 
tioning, and  assigning  the  space  necessary  for  the  purpose. 

This  last  observation  also  applies  to  space  for  concession 
purposes  throughout  the  entire  grounds,  as  well  as  in  the 
exhibition  buildings.  There  was  endless  trouble  and  dissat- 
isfaction among  concessionaires  because  of  the  thoroughly 
unsatisfactory  manner  in  which  this  matter  of  space  was 
handled. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  463 

The  entire  difficulty  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  subject 
was  not  considered  and  made  a  part  of  the  great  general 
plan  of  the  Exposition  at  the  very  beginning. 

A  very  few  weeks  before  the  opening  of  the  Exposition 
concessionaires  began  to  attempt  to  secure  space  inside  the 
buildings  and  booths  outside.  It  seemed  to  be  impossible 
to  have  assignments  of  space  made  them  which  would  be 
permanent  and  reliable.  The  matter  was  in  the  joint  charge 
of  the  Department  of  Works  and  of  the  director-general.  If 
one  of  these  departments  approved  a  space,  the  other  was 
more  than  apt  to  veto  it.  No  spaces  apparently  had  been 
especially  reserved  for  this  purpose  in  the  general  plan  of 
apportionment  in  the  buildings.  The  spaces  had  to  be  got- 
ten where  they  could  be  found.  This  department,  in  its 
original  plan,  intended  to  do  its  station  work  in  the  office, 
upon  a  large  division  map  especially  drawn  for  the  purpose, 
and  from  the  records  of  assignment  of  space  made  by  the 
Department  of  Works  and  the  director-general,  but  this  plan 
was  abandoned  upon  the  second  day's  trial,  as  no  such 
records  which  were  reliable  could  be  gotten.  It  finally 
became  necessary  for  the  department  to  cover  the  entire 
grounds  with  its  employes,  find  stations  actually  located,  and 
either  doing  business  or  preparing  to  do  so,  take  a  memo- 
randum of  the  location,  find  out  what  concession  had  posses- 
sion of  the  space,  making  up  its  records  of  stations  in  this 
way. 

The  superintendent  believes  that  the  following  plan 
would  satisfactorily  cover  all  points: 

In  the  original  plan  of  the  grounds  and  buildings,  certain 
designated  and  fixed  spaces  should  be  set  off  for  concession 
purposes,  just  as  they  were  set  off  for  the  purpose  of  certain 
classes  of  exhibits.  The  control  of  the  assignment  of  this 
entire  space  should  then  be  transferred  to  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means,  or  other  authority  granting  concessions, 
subject  to  certain  general  rules,  regulations,  and  limitations 
clearly  set  forth  in  writing:  For  instance,  an  assignment  of 
space  for  the  sale  of  cheap  silver  jewelry  should  not  be  per- 
mitted near  a  handsome  exhibit  of  legitimate  and  beautiful 
articles  of  the  same  kind.  Various  other  limitations  would 
readily  suggest  themselves;  but,  subject  to  such  limitations, 


464  APPENDIX  "£.n 

the  concessions  should  be  fitted  to  the  space  and  the  assign- 
ment made  to  each  concession  by  the  authority  granting  the 
concession,  as  soon  after  such  granting  as  possible.  Such 
assignment  should  be  clearly  noted  on  the  map  and  plan  of 
the  grounds  and  buildings,  and  the  spaces  assigned  to  each 
concession  should  be  at  once  divided  into  stations,  numbered 
and  recorded.  All  preliminary  work  would  then  be  com- 
pleted, constituting  in  the  end  a  perfect  whole,  just  as  in  the 
case  of  the  general  plan  of  exhibits;  and  when  the  opening 
day  should  arrive  all  would  be  in  readiness,  confusion  and 
delay  would  be  entirely  avoided,  records  would  be  perfect, 
and  all  the  business  could  be  systematized  and  organized 
from  the  office,  instead  of  having  to  search  the  ground  daily 
to  get  the  information  required.  This  plan  would  also  avoid 
all  disagreement  between  departments.  The  method,  or 
lack  of  method,  actually  operated  invariably  resulted  in 
damage  to  the  concessionaire  and  did  not  result  in  any 
benefit  to  the  Exposition. 

In  granting  the  concessions  on  the  Plaisance,  and  many 
others  outside  of  the  exhibition  buildings,  the  space  was  care- 
fully and  fully  designated  in  the  concession  contract,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  a  somewhat  similar  process  could  not  be 
adopted  within  the  exposition  buildings,  if  it  were  contem- 
plated and  decided  upon  in  the  original  plan. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  concessions  are  no  part  of  a  great 
exposition.  While  this  sounds  well  theoretically,  practically 
it  is  a  misstatement,  as  concessions  have  always  existed  at 
expositions,  and  always  will.  The  question  is  not  to  theorize 
as  to  what  ought  to  be,  but  to  adopt  the  best  practical  plan 
to  deal  with  that  which  is  and  which  will  be.  From  this 
standpoint  concessions  are  a  part,  and  a  very  material  part, 
of  any  exposition,  large  or  small,  and  any  general  plan  which 
does  not  provide  for  their  proper  placing  is  as  defective  in 
that  particular  as  it  would  be  in  another  particular,  if  it  did 
not  provide  for  a  proper  placing  of  exhibits. 

PLAN    FOR   SALE    OF    ARTICLES   IN    EXHIBITS. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  superintendent  that  no  sales  of  any 
kind  whatever  should  be  permitted  in  the  exhibition  buildings 
proper,  except  restaurants,  soft  drinks,  catalogues,  guides, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS,  465 

and  possibly  some  few  articles  which,  from  their  nature,  are  a 
necessity  to  visitors. 

It  would  add  to  the  dignity  of  a  great  exposition  and  to 
the  attractiveness  of  the  exposition  buildings  if  miscellaneous 
sales  were  not  allowed. 

It  is  next  to  impossible  to  prevent  the  sellers,  and  particu- 
larly the  foreigners,  from  addressing  the  people  as  they  pass, 
and  soliciting  them  to  purchase  or  look  at  the  goods,  which 
makes  it  more  or  less  disagreeable  to  the  visitors  who  wish 
to  give  their  attention  to  the  exhibits  free  from  annoyance. 

A  far  better  method  of  providing  for  the  sale  of  such 
articles  as  are  on  exhibition  would  be  to  provide  several 
large  and  handsome  buildings  for  that  express  purpose, 
where  duplicates  of  exhibits  should  be  on  sale. 

These  buildings  should  be  placed  each  under  the  care  of 
a  thoroughly  efficient  business  man  who  understood  the 
business  of  the  so-called  department  stores,  as  they  are  con- 
ducted in  large  cities.  The  money  received  from  all  sales 
should  go  to  a  central  cash  office  under  the  supervision  and 
control  of  the  exposition,  and  daily  there  should  be  returned 
to  the  proprietor  of  each  station  the  amount  of  sales  of  his 
station,  less  the  percentage  due  the  exposition.  When  well 
organized  and  properly  conducted,  this  system  is  thorough, 
rapid,  and  efficient,  and  there  is  no  objection  which  can  be 
raised  to  it,  except  that  it  would  give  the  exposition  almost 
a  certainty  of  securing  its  revenue,  which  would  undoubt- 
edly be  strongly  objected  to  by  a  large  number  of  the 
people  with  whom  the  Exposition  dealt  in  Chicago. 

The  fact  that  this  business  can  be  perfectly  systemized 
is  evidenced  by  the  investigation  of  the  superintendent  of 
the  methods  of  a  large  department  store,  where  there -ate 
600  sales  clerks  in  twenty-five  or  thirty  departments,  the 
receipts  from  each  of  which  was  kept  separately,  the  average 
variation  for  the  year  being  less  than  7  cents  a  day. 

EXCLUSIVE    CONCESSIONS. 

The  experience  of  the  department  demonstrated  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  superintendent  that  no  exclusive  conces- 
sion should  be  granted  except  of  the  following  characters  : 

i.   To  erect  and  maintain  a  village,  street,  or  building, 


466  APPENDIX  "£." 

characteristic  of  any  special  nation ;  but  this  should  not 
include  the  exclusive  right  of  sale  of  any  class  of  merchan- 
dise or  goods  whatever,  whether  pertaining  to  that  nation  or 
otherwise,  as  it  is  absolutely  impossible,  in  the  first  place,  to 
discriminate  as  to  the  classes  of  goods  to  be  sold,  and  in  the 
second  place  it  is  impossible  to  prohibit  and  to  prevent 
entirely  sales  of  merchandise  which  will  conflict  with  such 
exclusive  rights. 

2.  Catalogues,  guides,  and  other  publications  which  per- 
tain exclusively  to  the  exposition.  The  right  of  publishing 
and  selling  within  the  grounds  publications  of  this  character 
can  be  made  exclusive,  and  can  be  reasonably  well  pro- 
tected, but  the  right  to  publish  and  sell  such  publications, 
and  all  similar  character  of  business,  should  be  confined  to 
one  concession.  It  is  impossible  to  draw  a  well-defined  line 
and  say  "  here  the  guide  ends "  and  "  here  the  catalogue 
begins,"  and  this  would  be  true  of  any  other  publications 
which  were  characteristic  of  and  pertaining  to  the  exposi- 
tion, except  illustrated  works.  For  instance,  a  guide  to  the 
grounds  must  contain  a  map;  possibly  a  map  is  no  essential 
part  of  a  catalogue,  but  then  again,  possibly  it  is,  and  the 
question  of  determining  is  a  delicate  one,  and  certain  to  give 
dissatisfaction  to  one  or  the  other  party  if  the  concessions 
are  held  separately. 

The  following  are  a  few  examples  of  the  questions 
arising,  and  which  perhaps  show  the  characteristic  difficul- 
ties attending  the  protection  of  exclusive  concessions,  and 
how  liability  for  damage  on  the  part  of  the  exposition 
arises  : 

There  was  an  exclusive  concession  granted  for  the  sale  of 
souvenir  spoons.  The  first  question  that  arose  was  as  to 
whether  certain  other  spoons  being  sold  upon  the  grounds 
by  other  parties  were  or  were  not  "  souvenir  "  spoons,  in  the 
sense  intended  by  the  contract.  In  some  cases  it  was  hard 
to  determine  ;  in  a  few  cases  impossible.  The  next  question 
was  how  to  prohibit  and  prevent  the  sale  of  souvenir  spoons 
by  other  parties.  The  department  had  quite  a  number  of 
employes  engaged  in  this  effort  a  good  part  of  the  season. 
The  sale  of  spoons  would  be  stopped  in  the  Algerian  Village 
at  10  o'clock,  and  when  the  inspector  passed  out  of  the 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  467 

village  at  10.30  every  Algerian  would  produce  spoons  from 
his  pockets,  from  his  locked  boxes,  from  his  hat,  from  his 
wife's  clothing,  and  from  all  conceivable  places  where  spoons 
could  be  hidden.  It  was  easy  to  prove  that  the  spoons  were 
being  sold,  for  any  one  could  buy  them  should  he  ask  for 
them,  even  if  they  were  not  in  sight.  More  attention  was 
given  to  the  protection  of  this  one  exclusive  concession  than 
to  any  other  one,  because  the  goods  were  of  a  class  that 
were  easily  hidden  in  the  pocket  and  elsewhere,  and  could 
therefore  be  readily  sold  all  over  the  grounds.  With  all  the 
vigilance  of  the  department — and  the  souvenir  spoon  conces- 
sionaire agreed  that  the  department  had  done  all  in  its 
power,  and  highly  complimented  it  upon  its  efficiency  in  this 
respect — the  sale  could  not  be  entirely  suppressed. 

Another  case  was  the  exclusive  concession  for  the  sale  of 
oriental  goods.  What  are  oriental  goods?  This  question 
arose,  was  investigated,  and  it  was  discovered  that  a  very 
large  proportion  of  goods  sold  as  oriental  were  French  goods 
of  oriental  designs,  manufactured  for  the  oriental  trade. 

What  are  French  and  German  novelties?  They  were 
found  to  consist  of  almost  all  classes  of  goods  under  the  sun 
which  might  pertain  to  Southern  Europe,  Northern  Africa, 
or  the  Orient,  made  in  France  and  Germany,  and  sold  as 
goods  pertaining  to  the  country  of  which  their  patterns  and 
style  might  be  characteristic. 

Having  determined  the  character  of  the  goods,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  question  still  remained  as  to  what  means  could 
be  used  for  preventing  their  sale. 

These  are  but  a  very  small  number  of  the  questions 
arising  concerning  exclusive  concessions,  as  the  questions 
graded  from  these  very  marked  cases  to  others  which  were 
almost  impossible  to  determine  upon. 

Except  the  characteristic  concessions  named  above,  an 
exposition  is  only  safe  in  granting  exclusive  concessions  in 
one  way,  which  is  that  the  exposition  shall  agree  not  to 
grant  a  similar  privilege  to  any  other  party.  The  exposition 
then,  as  a  matter  of  good  faith,  would  do  its  best  to  protect 
the  concessions  so  granted,  but  would  not  assume  the  respon- 
sibility of  doing  so,  thereby  becoming  liable  for  damages  in 
case  of  failure  to  efficiently  protect.  For  the  guidance  of 


468  APPENDIX  "E." 

future  expositions  it  can  not  be  too  strongly  insisted  upon 
that  exclusive  concessions,  except  of  a  very  few  kinds,  and 
under  limitations  set  forth  above,  are  extremely  undesirable. 
More  concerning  this  appears  under  the  head  of  "Adjust- 
ment Committee." 

PERCENTAGES WERE  THEY    EXCESSIVE? 

Early  in  the  season  there  was  quite  a  general  complaint 
that  the  Exposition  had  demanded  far  higher  percentages 
than  the  concessionaires  could  pay  and  leave  a  profit.  Upon 
the  small  amount  of  business  prevailing  in  May  and  early 
June,  which,  however,  was  as  much  or  more  of  a  disappoint- 
ment to  the  Exposition  than  to  the  concessionaires,  this  com- 
plaint might  have  been  reasonable  ;  but  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  percentages  were  not  too  high  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  nearly  all  the  concessionaires  made  a  reasonable 
profit,  and  some  of  them  a  very  large  profit,  considering  the 
capital  invested.  Some  percentages  were  undoubtedly  too 
high,  figured  upon  the  merits  of  the  business  itself,  and  with- 
out regard  to  management  or  cost  of  the  plant.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  soft  drinks,  55  per  cent ;  peanuts 
and  pop  corn,  65  per  cent ;  souvenir  spoons,  40  per  cent ;  all 
of  which,  and  some  others,  were  afterward  reduced  by  the 
Exposition.  The  claim  made  by  some  parties  that  the  Expo- 
sition was  unreasonably  rigid  and  unjust  in  its  dealings  with 
concessionaires  is  best  shown  to  be  without  foundation  by 
the  fact  that  the  Exposition  reduced  many  percentages  which 
it  was  believed  were  too  high  to  enable  the  concessionaire  to 
successfully  conduct  his  business.  Other  classes  of  conces- 
sions that  could  not  profitably  pay  the  percentage  were  those 
where  the  investment  in  plant  was  too  large,  through  the 
error  in  judgment  of  the  concessionaire,  and  where  the 
business  was  conducted  in  an  unbusinesslike  manner,  in 
some  cases  such  as  to  drive  away  rather  than  to  attract  cus- 
tomers; in  other  cases  such  that  the  employes  of  the  conces- 
sionaire could  appropriate  to  their  own  use  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  receipts;  and  in  a  very  few  cases  where  the  enter- 
prise as  a  whole  was  an  ill-judged  one,  and  did  not  attract 
the  public.  The  most  notable  example  of  this  latter  class 
was  the  Chinese  Village.  Why  it  should  have  been  so  was 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  469 

not  apparent,  as  it  was  a  thoroughly  good  representation, 
and  was  conducted  from  the  start  in  a  thorough  and  busi- 
nesslike manner;  nevertheless,  the  public  did  not  seem  to  be 
attracted  by  it. 

The  Casino  restaurant  may  be  selected  as  an  example  of 
failure  because  of  poor  and  unbusinesslike  management.  It 
was  known  to  the  department  within  a  few  days  after  the 
concession  opened  for  business  that  there  was  a  well-organ- 
ized conspiracy  on  the  part  of  employes  to  appropriate  a 
large  portion  of  the  receipts.  The  evidence  was  procured 
by  the  department  and  worked  into  a  case,  but  on  the  very 
day  that  numerous  arrests  were  to  take  place  the  Casino 
passed  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  where  it  remained  for 
the  balance  of -the  season. 

The  Natatorium  (intended  to  be  a  swimming  plunge, 
restaurant,  and  variety  show  —  though  the  swimming  plunge 
was  never  operated)  is  a  good  example  of  too  much  money 
invested  in  a  plant.  Without  an  admission  fee  and  a  very 
attractive  performance,  it  was  found  to  be  difficult  to  get 
back  the  large  investment  out  of  the  profits  of  the  restaurant 
alone,  for  the  short  term  of  six  months. 

That  25  per  cent  was  not  too  much  for  restaurants  to  pay 
is  evidenced,  because  nearly  all  of  them  made  satisfactory 
profit,  and  some  a  very  large  profit,  and  without  too  large 
charge  to  the  public. 

It  can  be  truthfully  asserted  that  the  Exposition  was 
almost  invariably  very  liberal  in  its  financial  dealings  with 
concessionaires. 

MIDWAY    PLAISANCE. 

Much  objection  was  raised  to  the  original  plan  of  the 
Plaisance,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  undignified  and  no 
proper  part  of  a  great  international  exposition. 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  past  events  it  is  unquestionable 
that  the  Plaisance,  dignified  or  undignified,  was  a  great 
success. 

Had  the  many  concessions  located  upon  the  Plaisance 
been  scattered  indiscriminately  throughout  the  Exposition 
grounds,  unquestionably  the  dignity  or  the  stateliness  of 
the  Exposition  as  a  whole  would  have  been  injured  beyond 
forgiveness,  but,  located  as  it  was,  separate  from  the  Exposi- 


470 


APPENDIX  "E." 


tion  proper,  so  that  those  who  were  not  disposed  to  visit  the 
sights  to  be  seen  there  did  not  have  them  forced  upon 
them,  the  Plaisance  was  a  feature  from  the  absence  of 
which  the  Exposition  would  have  suffered  greatly. 

People  wish  and  expect  to  be  amused  as  well  as 
instructed  by  an  exposition,  and  if  the  amusement  is  not 
such  as  to  degrade,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not 
properly  be  a  part  thereof,  especially  if  nearly  all  of  the 
amusements  are  more  or  less  instructive. 

Perhaps  a  few  of  them  were  less  instructive  rather  than 
more,  but  those  who  appreciate  the  realism  of  "Cairo  Street," 
the  quaint  beauty  of  "Old  Vienna,"  the  attractiveness  of 
the  little  people  and  their  customs  in  the  "Java  Village,"  the 
mechanical  perfection  of  the  Ferris  Wheel,  and  the  fascina- 
tion of  many  other  Plaisance  concessions,  will  agree  that  the 
Plaisance  did  far  more  good  than  harm  to  the  interests  of 
the  Exposition,  notwithstanding  the  few,  very  few,  features 
which  were  objectionable. 

That  visitors  on  the  whole  enjoyed  and  believed  in  the 
Plaisance  is  evidenced  by  the  amount  of  money  they  spent 
with  those  concessions  which  were  exclusively  Plaisance 
concessions  (not  including  stations  located  upon  the  Plais- 
ance, but  belonging  to  miscellaneous  concessions,  such  as 
peanuts  and  soft  drinks),  amounting  to  $7,189,940.78,  return- 
ing the  Exposition  a  revenue  of  $1,644,768.85. 

The  proportion  of  visitors  who  did  not  enjoy  the  Plaisance 
enough  to  make  a  second  visit  was  very  light,  and  this  in 
spite  of  the  entertainment  and  instruction  to  be  gotten  in 
the  Exposition  grounds  proper. 

That  there  were  some  things  which  might  better  have 
been  omitted  from  the  Plaisance  concessions,  there  is  no 
question  ;  and  that  some  things  which  were  permitted  might 
have  been  better  controlled,  there  is  no  doubt ;  but  consider- 
ing the  nationalities  dealt  with,  and  the  moral  standing  of 
the  performers  in  many  of  the  entertainments,  it  is  unques- 
tionable that  the  best  was  done  which  the  circumstances 
admitted. 

That  the  Plaisance  attractions  added  millions  of  dollars 
to  the  receipts  of  the  Exposition  at  the  gates,  in  addition  to 
the  revenue  from  the  concessions,  is  certain,  as  it  was  the 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  471 

custom  of  many  people  living  in  Chicago  to  attend  the  Expo- 
sition late  in  the  day  or  evening,  simply  to  hear  the  music  or 
attend  the  various  entertainments  found  on  the  Midway. 

Many  of  the  concessions  represented  faithfully  manners, 
customs,  and  buildings  in  strict  accordance  with  the  char- 
acteristic representations  they  undertook,  and  without  the 
Plaisance  the  great  Exposition  would  have  been  somewhat 
less  a  complete  whole  than  it  was. 

A  table  of  Midway  Plaisance  concessions,  receipts,  etc., 
will  be  found  at  page  482. 

TABLES    OF    CONCESSION    GROSS    RECEIPTS,    REVENUE, 
ETC.,    WITH    EXPLANATION. 

This  table  is  divided  into  columns,  each  column  being 
plainly  headed  ;  but  this  explanation  is  necessary  to  a  more 
definite  understanding  of  the  information  contained  therein. 

The  first  column,  headed  "Concession  No.,"  gives  the 
number  of  each  concession.  These  numbers  were  arbitrary, 
but  followed  the  order  of  the  dates  of  the  contracts  as  far  as 
it  was  possible  to  do  so.  The  number  assigned  to  a  conces- 
sion was  unimportant,  as  it  was  simply  a  means  of  indexing 
and  readily  referring  to  any  and  all  matters  pertaining  to 
the  concession.  The  same  number  was,  of  course,  adopted 
throughout  the  department,  for  any  and  all  puposes  pertain- 
ing to  the  concession.  The  total  number  of  concessions  was 

370- 

The  second  column,  headed  "Operated  by,"  gives  the 
name  of  party  operating  the  concession,  who  was  often  not 
the  party  to  whom  it  was  originally  granted,  but  a  corpora- 
tion organized  for  the  purpose,  to  which  was  transferred  the 
concession  contract. 

The  third  column,  headed  "Character  of  Concession," 
gives  briefly  the  character  of  the  business  transacted,  and 
very  often  the  popular  name  of  the  concession  as  it  was 
known  to  the  public.  For  instance,  Concession  No.  4  is  noted 
in  this  column,  "  Cairo  Street."  Concession  No.  7  is  noted, 
"  German  Village." 

The  fourth  column,  headed  "Remarks,"  explains  itself. 

The  fifth  heading  covers  eight  columns,  being  marked  at 
the  top  "Receipts  Classified."  In  these  eight  columns  the 


472 


APPENDIX 


gross  receipts  are  classified  according  to  the  purpose  for 
which  money  was  expended  by  the  visitors,  as  follows  : 

No.  i.  This  classification  shows  all  restaurant  gross 
receipts,  except  in  a  very  few  instances  where  restaurants 
were  run  in  connection  with  amusements  so  that  it  was 
absolutely  impossible  to  segregate  same.  Such  cases  were 
few  and  the  receipts  comparatively  small.  Where  soft 
drinks,  liquors,  and  smokers'  articles  were  sold  in  the  restau- 
rants in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  segregate  the 
receipts  thereof,  the  entire  receipts  are  entered  in  this 
column.  The  amount  of  gross  receipts  was  $5,016,609.84. 

No.  2.  This  classification  shows  gross  receipts  from  pea- 
nuts, pop  corn,  soft  drinks,  cider,  candy,  and  all  such  edible 
articles  as  are  not  necessaries,  except  a  few  which  were  sold 
from  the  slot  machines.  It  includes,  however,  gum  sold 
from  the  slot  machines,  as  it  was  not  possible  to  segregate 
the  gum  receipts  from  the  slot  machine  and  receipts  from 
other  sales  of  gum.  The  amount  of  the  gross  receipts  was 


No.  3.  This  classification  shows  the  gross  receipts  from 
general  admission  charges  to  the  streets,  villages,  etc.,  like 
"  Cairo  Street  "  and  the  "  German  Village,"  where  an  admis- 
sion charge  to  the  concession  was  provided  for  in  the  con- 
tract. The  Ferris  Wheel  receipts  are  included  in  this  classi- 
fication, as  it  seems  to  be,  perhaps,  the  proper  place  to  put 
it.  The  number  of  patrons  was  15,242,835,  and  the  amount 
of  gross  receipts  $3,420,704.85. 

No.  4.  This  classification  shows  the  gross  receipts  from 
admission  charges  to  attractions  located  inside  the  conces- 
sions, to  which  the  contract  provided  for  admission  charges, 
such  as  theaters,  sleight-of-hand  performances,  and  all  other 
minor  features  inside  concessions  to  which  admission  was 
charged.  The  number  of  patrons  was  4,172,466.  The 
amount  of  gross  receipts  was  $821,072.80. 

No.  5.  This  classification  shows  the  gross  receipts  from 
transportation  where  it  was  possible  to  segregate  from  other 
receipts.  In  some  cases  it  was  not  possible  to  do  so  perfectly, 
as  the  receipts  from  this  source  were  so  confused  with  others. 
A  case  in  mind  is  the  "  Snow  and  Ice  Railway,"  where  the 
receipts  for  transportation  on  the  railway  proper  were  mixed 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


473 


with  concert-hall  receipts  and  restaurant  receipts.  In  the 
concessions  which  were  exclusively  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
portation, like  the  elevated  railway,  the  electric  launches, 
and  the  roller  chairs,  there  is,  of  course,  no  such  confusion. 
The  number  of  people  carried  was  11,137,935.  The  amount 
of  gross  receipts  was  $1,908,110.63. 

No.  6.  This  classification  shows  the  gross  receipts  from 
sales  of  goods,  merchandise,  etc.  The  amount  of  gross 
receipts  was  $3,644,800.93. 

No.  7.  This  classification  shows  the  gross  receipts  from 
cigars  and  smokers'  materials  in  all  cases  where  these  were 
sold  separately.  A  large  part  of  such  receipts  will  neces- 
sarily appear  in  classification  No.  i,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
segregate  them.  The  amount  of  the  gross  receipts  was 
$138,949.61. 

No.  8.  This  classification  includes  miscellaneous  receipts, 
which  it  was  hardly  possible  to  classify.  The  nature  of  the 
concession  will,  in  all  these  cases,  show  what  these  miscel- 
laneous receipts  were  for.  The  amount  of  gross  receipts 
was  $534,827.44. 

The  next  column,  headed  "Total  Gross  Receipts,"  shows 
the  total  gross  receipts  carried  out  against  each  concession 
and  the  total  footing  of  all  the  gross  receipts,  which  was 
$16,583,051.53. 

The  next  column,  headed  "Average  Percentage,"  shows 
the  average  percentage  which  each  concession  paid  the 
Exposition  of  their  gross  receipts.  There  were  many  con- 
cessions which  paid  different  percentages  on  different  classes 
of  receipts.  Concession  No.  4  (Cairo  Street)  paid  percent- 
ages varying  from  5  to  25  per  cent.  The  total  average  per- 
centage was  25.5  per  cent. 

The  next  column,  headed  "  Revenue,"  shows  the  revenue 
accruing  to  the  Exposition  from  each  concession. 

The  total  revenue  was  $4,237,563-95- 

The  next  column,  headed  "  Largest  Number  of  Stations 
Operated,"  shows  the  largest  number  of  stations  operated  by 
any  one  concession  at  any  one  time,  and  the  total  largest 
number  of  stations,  which  was  3,542. 

The  next  column,  headed  "  Number  of  Cash  Registers," 
shows  the  largest  number  of  cash  registers  used  by  any 


474 


APPENDIX 


one  concession  at  any  one  time.     The  largest  total  number 
was  644. 

The  next  column,  headed  "  Remarks,"  explains  itself. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Total  number  of  concessions,  370. 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  1,  restaurants $  5,016,609  84 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  2,  peanuts,  soft  drinks,  etc.     1 ,097,975  43 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  3,  general  admission  to 

concessions  —  patrons,  14,372,835 3,420,704  85 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  4,  admission  to  attractions 

inside  of  concessions  —  patrons,  4,172,466 _ 821 ,072  80 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  5,  transportation  — 

patrons,  11, 137,935.. 1,908,110  63 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  6,  sales  of  goods,  merchan- 
dise, etc 3,644,800  93 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  7,  cigars  and  smokers' 

materials 138,949  61 

Gross  receipts,  classification  No.  8,  miscellaneous 534,827  44 

Gross  receipts,  total $16,583,051  53 

Revenue  to  the  Exposition 4,237,563  95 

Average  percentage  upon  gross  receipts 25.55  per  cent. 

Largest  number  of  stations  operated 3,542 

Largest  numbers  of  cash  registers  used 644 

RECAPITULATION    OF    GROSS    RECEIPTS,    REVENUE,    AND 
COLLECTIONS. 

A  glance  at  the  following  table,  headed  as  above,  will 
give  briefly  all  the  figures  relative  to  the  business  of  the 
department. 

The  gross  receipts  of  the  concessions  were  $16,583,051.53. 
This  does  not  include  any  allowance  for  gross  receipts  of  the 
sales  in  foreign  sections  (page  492),  as  these  permits  were 
usually  issued  on  the  basis  of  a  fixed  amount  per  day,  the 
sellers  being  of  such  a  character  that  it  was  not  considered 
profitable  to  take  their  statements,  as  they  had  no  regular 
concession  contracts;  it  was  mostly  a  case  of  getting  all  that 
was  possible  under  adverse  circumstances,  and  an  estimate 
of  the  gross  receipts  would  be  simply  guesswork  and  of  no 
value. 

Under  the  heading,  "  This  amount  is  accounted  for  as  fol- 
lows," in  the  column  marked  "per  cent,"  is  the  percentage 
which  each  amount  bears  to  the  total  revenue. 

Items  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  and  4  are  cash  or  the  equivalent  of 
cash,  as  set  forth  under  the  heading  "  Cost  of  Collections  " 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  475 

(page  450),  making  an  aggregate  of  92.46  per  cent  of  the 
entire  revenue  accruing  to  the  Exposition  from  these  sources. 

1.  Table  of  "Cash  Collections  "  will  be  found  on  page  477. 

2.  Table   of    "Allowances    for    Claims    and    Damages 
adjusted  by  the  Adjustment  Committee  "  will  be  found  on 
page  477. 

3.  Table  of  "Cash   Deposits  applied  on  Final  Settle- 
ment "  will  be  found  on  page  478. 

4.  Table  of  "Amounts  allowed  for  Construction"  will  be 
found  on  page  479. 

Item  No.  5,  headed  "Credited  Back  to  Irish  Villages," 
amounts  to  1.58  per  cent  of  the  entire  revenue,  is  really  no 
part  of  the  revenue,  and  should  not  appear  as  a  part  of  the 
same;  but  it  was  necessary  to  charge  the  daily  percentages 
accruing  to  the  accounts  of  these  concessions,  in  order  to 
determine  whether  the  gross  receipts  and  revenue  for  the 
season  should  equal  the  amount  specified  in  the  contract, 
after  which  these  concessions  should  pay  a  percentage  to  the 
Exposition.  Being  but  two  items,  no  table  is  necessary. 

Item  No.  6,  under  the  heading  "  Accounts  Disputed  and 
in  Litigation,"  is  5.56  per  cent  of  the  entire  revenue.  It  is 
probable  that  about  one-half  of  this  amount  will  be  collected. 
Some  of  the  concessions  are  in  the  hands  of  receivers  or 
officers  of  the  court,  others  are  adjusted  claims  against  the 
Exposition  of  various  characters,  and  some  are  disagree- 
ments as  to  construction  of  contract.  Table  of  "  Accounts 
Disputed  and  in  Litigation"  will  be  found  on  page  479. 

Items  Nos.  7  and  8,  "  Suspense  Account"  and  "  Balance 
Uncollected,"  ammint  to  .4  per  cent  (four- tenths  of  i  per 
cent)  of  the  entire  revenue. 

7.  Table  "  Suspense  Account "  will  be  found  on  page  479. 

8.  Table  of  "Balance  Outstanding  Uncollected"  will  be 
found  on  page  480. 

RECAPITULATION  OF  CONCESSION  GROSS  RECEIPTS,  REVENUE,  ETC. 
May  1,  1893,  to  February  10,  1894. 

AUDITS -Month  of  May $    188,66850 

COLLECTIONS  —  Month  of  May $     51,182  30 

AUDITS  — Month  of  June 595,971  71 

COLLECTIONS  —  Month  of  June 338,142  59 

Carried  forward..  .  $    784,640  21    $    389,324  89 


APPENDIX  ".£." 

Brought  forward $    784,640  21    $    389,324  89 

AUDITS  —  Month  of  July 624,018  30 

COLLECTIONS  —  Month  of  July _  561,100  76 

AUDITS  —  Month  of  August 676,141  08 

COLLECTIONS  —  Month  of  August 568,786  26 

AUDITS  —  Month  of  September. 981 ,791  46 

COLLECTIONS  — Month  of  September 825,294  01 

AUDITS  —  Month  of  October  to  date  _ 1,197,397  49 

COLLECTIONS  —  Month  of  October  to  date  ..  1,096,042  39 


$4,263,988  54    $3,440,548  31 
CONCESSION  No.  43  —  Irish  Industries  Asso- 
ciation (admission) . . . .          46,692  89 

CONCESSION  No.  69  —  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Hart, 

Irish  Village _ 21,895  09 

TOTAL  COLLECTIONS  —  Garbage,  dairy  re- 
ceipts, traveling  cranes,  etc 28,946  54 

TOTALAUDITS $4,332,57652    

TOTAL  COLLECTIONS $3,469,494  85 

Gross  receipts,  concessions  Nos.  1  to  370 16,583,051  53 

Revenue  from  concessions  Nos.  1  to  370 4,237,563  95 

Exhibitors'  sales,  Nos.  1  to  138,  revenue  collected 12,816  81 

Traveling  cranes,  fares  collected  from  passengers 10,219  90 

Charges  for  foreign  craft,  landing  at  piers 477  35 

Garbage  removed,  collected  for  this  service 1 ,083  82 

Safety  deposit  vaults,  collected  for  boxes  rented _  _  657  17 

Dairy  receipts,  collected  from  sales  of  product  of  Dairy 

Exhibit. 6,450  92 

Guide  service,  collected  from  fees  paid  by  visitors. _  588  00 

Music  halls,  collected  from  admissions  to  musical  per- 
formances given  by  the  Exposition  (other  musical 

performances  were  treated  as  "concessions) 62,718  60 

$  4,332,576  52 
This  amount  is  accounted  for  as  follows: 

AMOUNT.  PER  CENT. 

1 .  Collected  in  cash  by  this  department $3,469,494  85  80 . 07 

2.  Allowances  for  claims  and  damages  adjusted 

by  Adjustment  Committee _ 203,01902  4.69 

3.  Cash  deposits  at  the  time  of  signing  contracts, 

applied  on  final  settlement  of  percentages        82,079  66  1.90 

4.  Allowed  for  construction  of  piers,  buildings, 

etc. ,  under  concession  contracts 251 ,431  16  5 . 80 

5.  Irish  villages,  revenue  charged  to  these  two 

concessions  and  rebated  under  terms  of 
contracts  because  they  did  not  reach  a 
certain  total  (see  page  475) 68,587  98  1 . 58 

6.  Accounts  disputed  and  in  litigation 240,807  30  5 . 56 

7.  Suspense  account,  of  which  $1,000 

is  an  uncollected  check  on  sus- 
pended bank $7,661  10 

8.  Balance  outstanding,  uncollected.-    9,495  45 

17,156  55  .40 


$4,832,567  52         100.00 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


477 


TABLE  OF  CASH  COLLECTIONS. 

The  amount  collected  in  cash  from  concessionaires  on 

account  of  percentage  was $3,374,482  28 

From  sales  in  foreign  sections.. 12,816  81 

Traveling  cranes 10,219  90 

Foreign  craft  landing  at  piers,  wharfage  charges 477  35 

Garbage  removal 1,083  82 

Safety  deposit  vaults 657  17 

Dairy  receipts... 6,450  92 

(This  account  was  for  receipts  from  the  milk,  butter, 

etc. ,  which  were  the  product  of  the  Dairy  Exhibit  of 

the  Exposition.) 

Guidecorps 588  00 

(This  was  received  from  fees  paid  the  guides  by 

visitors.) 

Music  halls 62,718  60 

Total $3,469,494  85 

TABLE  OF  ALLOWANCES  FOR  CLAIMS  AND  DAMAGES  ADJUSTED 
BY  THE  ADJUSTMENT  COMMITTEE. 

Con.  No.     3  —  Elia-Souhami,  Sadullah  Company,  j  ^'ijjjjj  ^  $2,200  00 

"  "  4  —  Egypt-Chicago  Exposition  Company  50000 

(  5,000  00 

« .  «  7  _  German  Eth.  Exposition  Company  \  1 ,000  00  7,000  00 

(  1,000  00 

«      "       8  — L.  J.  Kadish,  Natatorium j    |^  *|0  9  m  ^ 

«     13  _  Columbian  Moorish  Palace  Company  1 ,625  00 

i       77^  fin 

"      ••     14  — Benj.  Henneberg -j    2,25QQQ  3  °25  ^ 

44       <«     18— E.  R.  Nichols  &  Co f  3,00000 

««     19  — Intramural  Railroad  Company...  |       47733  8,01497 

.<       44     23  — VanHouten&  Zoon..              23841 

»      "     24— L.  A.  Thurston 3,35740 

««      «'     28  — A.  Sifico&  M.  Ganon 2,00000 

(       817  35 

«      ««     31  — Hungarian  Cafe  Company -j    1,18265  3,80603 

(    1,806  03 

«•      "     35  — Meeker  &  Willard 2,50000 

4.      ««     36  — W.  M.  Lowney  Company 1,666  66 

»      ««     37  — Electric  Launch  &  Navigation  Co.       1'iQ5  50  1>755  ^ 

44      ««     38  —  Venice-Murano  Company 40000  80000 

44      44     39 —  World's  Fair  Captive  Balloon  Co...  300  00 

44      4,     45 _  M.  F.  Gallagher  &  Co 3200 

4.      .<     46  — Adams  4&  Cobb -  3,50299 

«      "     50-D.  Moretti 5,00000 

/         ftrtfi  ftO 

««      «     51  -  Elia-Souhami,  Sadullah  Company  j         jg  56  852  50 

4.      44     54__GilbertM.  King |  3,01876 


Carried  forward 163,923  25 


478 


APPENDIX 


Brought  forward 163,923  25 

Con.  No.  55— S.  H.  Hale 1,243  19 

««     56  — Smith  Exploring  Company 500  00 

«     59  — International  Dress  &  Costume  Co..  2,00000 

64  — E.  L.  &  E.  M.  Requa 738  57 

67  — W.  W.  Dreyfoos 3,486  85 

68 _W.  B.  Conkey  Company 20,000  00 

71  — Cottentin  &  Zieman 1,023  88 

75  — Y.  Maurai 90  00 

78— Richard  Stockton __  3,383  36 

"       "     81  —  Koenig  &  Greisser j*    21400  834  °° 

"     86  —  Ludovic  de  Spiridon 19055 

(    2,500  00 

"       "     87  —  Hagenbeck  Arena  Company \       600  00  6,185  00 

I    3,08500 

"       "     88  — Lee  Cahn 8446 

»     94  —  Wellington  Catering  Company 66,65449 

"      "     95  — Praise  Peters. 6000 

«      "   102- Franz  Triacca -j       5^  J£  58812 

«      «  103  — B.  F.  Norris,  Alister  Company 3,880  34 

"      "   105  —  Robert  Lindblom 25278 

..       «   107  — J.  J.  Gibson 2,53451 

"   114— Eugene   Leneuf 20000 

"   116— Oceanic  Trading  Company 250  00 

««   121  —  Columbian  Guide  Company 5,00000 

"122  —Julius  Berkey  &  Ford  Johnson  Co...  75  00 

"      •'  133 -Lapland  Village  Exhibition  Co...  j    {'22330  2,32230 

".      "   136  — Elizabeth  W.  Riley 7500 

"      "   137  —  Arthur  Schwartz |       3j$  jjjj  30000 

"       "   150  —  Smith  &  Upham 12,51979 

«   154  — Secord&  Hopkins 16549 

»      "   172  — Ardeshir  &  Byramji 25000 

»       «   208  —  Berriman  Bros 77866 

"      "   223  —  A.  J.  Johnston -j       37500  43500 

"       "   253  — P.  B.Wickham..  66  00 

"      "   257  — S.  K.  Bistani 1,340  00 

««   258  — English  Military  Tournament  Co...  1,19036 

"      "   358— Lawson  &  Soper 271  72 

"      "  368  — M.Berliner 12635 

$203,019  02 

TABLE  OF  CASH  DEPOSITS  TO  BE  APPLIED  ON  FINAL  SETTLEMENT. 

Con.  No.     4— Egypt  — Chicago  Exposition  Company $     26200 

««      ««      46  — Adams&Cobb 25,00000 

««      "      57  — World's  Fair  Tower  Company 50000 

»      «•      67— W.  W.  Dreyfoos 1,500  00 

«      "      68  — W.  B.  Conkey  Company 10,00000 

"      "      72  — J.  H.  Dilworth  &  Co j     ^  JJJJ  1,000  00 

4  •      ' '      73  —  Columbia  Soft  Drink  Company 10,000  00 

Carried  forward..                                                    .  $48,262  00 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  479 

Brought  forward 148,262  00 

Con.  No.  82  — B.  D.  Spencer 472  12 

88  — LeeCahn 2,000  00 

103  —  B.  F.  Norris,  Alister  Company 5,000  00 

105  — Robert  Lindblom ; 2,500  00 

114  —  La  Collective  de  la  Boulangerie  Francaise 400  00 

119  —  Union  News  Company 787  16 

121  —  Columbian  Guide  Company _  10,000  00 

122  — Julius  Berkey _ 2,756  10 

123  — M.  F.  Moss 865  05 

133  —  Lapland  Village  Exhibit  Company 1 ,000  00 

136— Elizabeth  W.  Riley 139  76 

144 — Apollinaris  Company,  Limited 426  25 

154  — Secord&  Hopkins 2,000  00 

161  — A.  P.  dela  Riberio _ 116  21 

170  — Jos.  Baker  &  Co 75  58 

171  — HulieMeret 4  39 

176— Edward  Bertault _- 5,000  00 

286— J.  R.  Reavis 48  00 

344— Envelope  &  Stamp  Machine  Co... 227  04 

$82,079  66 
TABLE  OF  AMOUNTS  ALLOWED  FOR  CONSTRUCTION. 

Con.  No.  15  — World's  Fair  Steamship  Company $  46,690  79 

««  73  —  Columbian  Exposition  Soft  Drink  Company.          30000 

"      "     78— Richard  Stockton 15,00000 

•  «     94_ Wellington  Catering  Company 30,000  00 

<•      •«   102  — Franz  Triacca .- 3,200  00 

•  •   105  — Robert  Lindblom 3,50000 

.«      "   135  — Elizabeth  W.  Riley 2,00000 

»      "   140  — Clow  Sanitary  Company 150,08539 

•  «   173  — City  News  Company 65498 

$251,431  16 
TABLE  OF  ACCOUNTS  DISPUTED  AND  IN  LITIGATION. 

Con.  No.  10  — J.  S.  Morris $  17,213  25 

•«      "     16  — George  Barrie 6,426  00 

« «      « «     21  —  Waukesha  Hygeia  Mineral  Springs  Company.  29,629  48 

«•     30  — Columbia  Casino  Company 43,95437 

"      «•     35  —  E.  R.  Meeker 57689 

••      "     53  — Crane  Companv 1,23»  74 

..      ..     58  — George  W.  Ferns 84,422  28 

..      «<     68  — W.  B.  Conkey  Company 1,86520 

79 — Multiple  Speed  &  Traction  Co 29,458  39 

81  — Koenig&Greisser.. 7,820  50 

134_  W.  D.  Preston  et  al 

141  _  Hale  Elevator  Company 17,135  52 

218— Thos.  Stevens 800  00 

$240,807  30 
TABLE  OF  SUSPENSE  ACCOUNT. 

Con.  No.  31  — Hungarian  Cafe  Company $    1,00000 

"       "     28  — A.  Sifico 6,661  10 

$    7,661  10 


480  APPENDIX  "£•." 

TABLE  OF  BALANCE  OUTSTANDING  UNCOLLECTED. 

Con.  No.  39  — World's  Fair  Captive  Balloon  Company $  1,213  73 

41  — Hyde  Park  Gas  Company 3,666  18 

59  —  International  Dress  &  Costume  Co 731  11 

89  — Mrs.  W.  R.  Robeson 167  97 

94  —  Wellington  Catering  Company. 3,466  17 

257  — S.  K.  Bistani 167  83 

296  — J.  B.  Campbell 82  46 

$  9,495  45 


CONCLUSION. 

The  superintendent  believes  that  a  study  of  this  report 
as  rendered,  and  analysis  of  the  tables  of  figures  forming  a 
part  of  the  report,  will  give  any  information  which  may  be 
needed  for  general  purposes. 

Accurate  figures  in  detail,  relating  to  any  particular  con- 
cession account,  can  be  gotten  by  reference  to  the  books  and 
papers  of  the  department,  all  of  which  are  in  possession  of 
the  Exposition. 

This  report  could  have  been  shortened  very  materially, 
but  at  the  possible  risk  of  omitting  information  which  might 
be  valuable  or  of  not  fully  explaining  many  matters  of  detail 
so  that  they  would  be  fully  understood  by  any  one  interested 
in  the  matter. 

On  the  other  hand  the  report  might  have  been  amplified 
to  much  greater  proportions,  and  while,  undoubtedly,  some 
further  information  would  have  been  included,  it  would  have 
been  at  the  risk  of  much  tiresome  repetition  and  of  inserting 
a  great  deal  of  valueless  and  uninteresting  matter. 

The  superintendent  unfortunately  contracted  a  serious 
illness  within  a  week  after  the  Exposition  closed  and  was 
compelled  to  leave  the  scene  of  the  labors  of  the  depart- 
ment, and  has  never  been  able  to  return,  owing  to  other 
engagements  which  took  effect  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to 
meet  them.  Thus  he  has  labored  under  tne  great  disadvan- 
tage of  compiling  this  report  at  a  distance  of  many  hundred 
miles  from  the  original  records  and  papers;  and  while  the 
figures  as  given  are  absolutely  correct,  there  are  many  small 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  481 

items  of  interesting  information  which  might  have  been 
incorporated  in  the  report  but  for  the  circumstances  men- 
tioned. 

The  superintendent  believes,  however,  that  everything 
really  necessary  to  the  full  understanding  of  the  working  of 
the  department  is  contained  herein. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted,  with  the  hope 
that  the  report  as  formulated  may  be  satisfactory  and  in  full 
accordance  with  your  views  as  to  what  it  should  contain  and 
as  to  the  form  in  which  it  is  expressed. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

PAUL  BLACKMAR, 
Superintendent  Collections, 
World's  Columbian  Exposition. 


31 


482 


APPENDIX  "E." 


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APPENDIX 


WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS  —  September  i,  1893,  to  February  10,  1894. 
EXHIBITOR'S  SALES. 


Per- 
mit 
No. 

GRANTED  To. 

To  SELL. 

Gross 
Receipts. 

Exposi- 
tion 
Revenue. 

Cash 
Collec- 
tions. 

A  1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 
54 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
65 
66 
67 
68 

Edward  Faulk 

Optical  Goods 

$  1,040  00 
1,025  00 
48  00 
404  00 
880  00 
1,74000 
34800 
216  00 
14000 
63000 
440  00 
52600 

$     260  00 
256  25 
1200 
101  00 
220  00 
485  00 
87  00 
54  00 
35  00 
157  50 
11000 
131  50 

$     260  00 
25625 
1200 
101  00 
22000 
485  00 
87  00 
5400 
35  00 
157  50 
11000 
131  50 

Hatch  Cutlery  Co  

Cutlery,  etc.  _  

Knight  Boot-black.  Mch.  Co. 
S  W   Hall 

Boot-blacking  Machines 
Overgaiters 

T.  H.  Noonan  &  Co. 

Clothes  Cleaner    

Geo.  T.  Johnson 

Eradicator 

B.  C.  Leubezyusky  

Microscopes  .. 

E.  T.  Northcutt    .. 

Wheat 

G  T.  Capwell 

Hammers 

C.  Rusch  &  Co  

Model  of  Cologne  Cath'l. 
Microscopes 

M.  Samuels 

Dr.  Shoztal        

Jewelry  .               

(Not  operated) 

H.  J.  Deal  

Jno.  Sankey 

Souvenirs.  

24000 
24  60 
980  00 
70000 
1,760  00 

60  00 
6  15 
245  00 
17500 
440  00 

60  00 
6  15 
245  00 
17500 
44000 

"  Life  of  Leather  " 

Alfred  Gutman 

Engraving 

Jno.  Itzikawski                  .  .. 

Handkerchiefs 

Jos.  Lathoud  

Souvenirs  

(Not  operated) 

J.  B.  Morris 

Soap  Bark 

1,640  00 
4800 

410  00 
12  00 

41000 
12  00 

Frederick  Turck 

Souvenirs 

(Not  operated) 

W.  G.  Allen              

Soap  Bark  

29400 
20000 
480  00 

73  50 
5000 
120  00 

73  50 
5000 
120  00 

Marie  Benant 

Jewelry 

Alphonse   Dibblebach 

Magic  Glasses 

(Not  operated) 

(Not  operated) 

Evan  Jones 

Souvenirs             

1,28000 
50000 

320  00 
125  00 

32000 
125  00 

Isadore  Bachelet 

Jewelry 

(Not  operated)  

Chas.  Taylor 

Soap  Bark 

30000 
200  00 
48000 
400  00 
63200 
66900 
94200 
63600 
1,376  00 
40000 

75  00 
50  00 
12000 
100  00 
158  00 
167  25 
235  50 
159  00 
344  50 
10000 

75  00 
5000 
120  00 
100  00 
15800 
167  25 
23550 
15900 
344  50 
10000 

F.  Zanon  &  A.  Canima  
T.  Collard  Penant  

Souvenirs  

Engraving  

V  essaires  Bros. 

Glass  Engraving 

E.  Schiska 

Microscopes 

Jno.  Zeller 

Engraving 

Jno.  Holmes 

Engraving 

Peter  Baxter                 

Souvenirs        

D.  Simon 

Handkerchiefs 

Lewis  Van  Dobven  

Placques  

(Not  operated) 

E.  C.  Hunt 

Rubber  Stamps 

62400 
840  00 

156  00 
210  00 

156  00 
210  00 

S.  Wood 

Chameleons 

Emil  M.  Bloom  

Pearl  Fraze 

Cider  and  Wine 

72400 
370  00 
234  00 
1,000  00 
58000 
200  00 
40000 
204  85 
540  00 
1,18000 
740  00 
14400 
396  00 
408  00 
34000 

181  00 
92  50 
58  50 
250  00 
145  00 
50  00 
100  00 
51  21 
135  00 
295  00 
185  00 
36  00 
99  00 
10200 
85  00 

181  00 
9250 
5850 
250  00 
14500 
50  00 
100  00 
51  21 
135  CO 
29500 
185  00 
36  00 
99  00 
102  00 
85  00 

G.  W.  Walker 

Needle  Threaders 

Dr.  Welch  

Grape  Juice  

Geo.  Mischke 

Microscopes 

M.  Brown  

Amber  Jewelry  

Mrs.  B.  Vindure 

Soap 

Sells  Lubin  

Optical  Goods  

Pe  de  la  Sota 

Opals           .  

W.  H.  Pike 

Souvenirs 

R.  Vincent  

Glass  Engraving  

F.  J.  Dugan 

Potter's  Goods 

Jno.  Kiddell  &  Co  

Aluminum  Goods  

Geo.  Aboukalil 

French  Novelties    .     . 

Harriet  Friedman 

Optical  Goods 

Johns  &  Taylor 

Microscopes    _  ..  

(Never  operated) 

Richard  Klein 

Souvenirs          

24000 

6000 

60  00 

(Not  operated) 

L.  Witowski 

(Not  operated) 

Peter  A.  Burns  

Microscopes  

442  00 

110  50 

110  50 

George  Mischke 

James  Riley... 

Souvenirs  

216  00 

54  00 

54  00 

S.  Wood....  

Amounts  carried  forwa 

rd...  

$31,441  45 

$  7,910  86 

$  7,910  86 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


493 


EXHIBITOR'S  SALES.— Continued. 


Per- 
mit 
No. 

GRANTED  TO. 

To  SELL. 

Gross 
Receipts. 

Exposi- 
tion 
Revenue  . 

Cash 
Collec- 
tions. 

A  69 
70 
71 
72 
73 
74 
75 
76 
77 
78 
79 
80 
81 
82 
83 
84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
89 
90 
91 
92 
93 
94 
95 
96 
97 
98 
99 
100 
101 
102 
103 
104 
105 
106 
107 
108 
109 
110 
111 
112 
113 
114 
115 
116 
117 
118 
119 
120 
121 
122 
123 
124 
125 
126 
127 
128 
129 
130 
131 
132 
133 
134 
135 
136 
137 
138 
139 

Amounts  brought  forwa 
Miss  Herzfield 

rd              

$31,441  45 
116  35 

460  00 
35000 
45000 
36800 

$  7,910  86 
2909 
115  00 
87  50 
112  50 
9200 

$  7,9!0  86 
29  09 
115  00 
8750 
11250 
9200 

Fancy  Goods 

Felipe  Gerade 

Medals 

G.  C.  McMullen  

Cider       

Eugene  Fourchet 

Handkerchiefs    

J.  Tauggis 

Perfurriery 

(Not  operated)  

Peter  A.  Sauret  &  Co  

Alex.  Abakolil  • 

French  Novelties 

96535 
340  00 
7  10 
60000 
40000 

241  34 
8500 
1  77 
15000 
10000 

241  34 

85  00 
1  77 
15000 
10000 

J  J    Bradner 

Microscopes 

Geo.  F.  Smith      

Souvenirs        

M    G.  Thompson 

Microscopes       .......... 

Isaac  Mainzer 

Handkerchiefs 

(Not  operated) 

(Not  operated)... 

Wright  &  Smith 

Cider 

68895 
8000 
23200 
20000 

17223 
2000 
5800 
50  00 

17223 

2000 
58  00 
5000 

Lowinberg  &  Co. 

Souvenirs  

S  T  Hodgson 

Souvenirs  .............  . 

MndiVTi  Piprson 

Souvenirs 

(Not  operated) 

(Not  operated) 

E  Sober  Bros. 

Souvenirs 

11200 
15200 
7000 

2800 
38  00 
17  50 

28  00 
3800 
1750 

Alfonse  Sasserath 

Souvenirs 

Souvenirs 

(Not  operated) 

Joseph  Pierson 

H  Stanislas  &  Co 

Souvenirs 

9600 

2400 

2400 

V  V  Perre 

Souvenirs       

218  50 
9600 
12000 

5463 
2400 
3000 

5463 
2400 
3000 

Chas    Candil 

Candy           .        ... 

Souvenirs 

Geo    Brant 

Elizabeth  Herbert 

Souvenirs             ......... 

16800 
53800 
8200 
56  00 

42  00 
132  50 
2050 
14  00 

4200 
132  50 
20  50 
1400 

Alida  Goetshebeur 

Handkerchiefs 

Adeline  Verbet 

Souvenirs 

E    Vansteo 

Souvenirs  

(Not  operated) 

E    Hang 

Souvenirs  

26000 
48  00 

6500 
1200 

65  00 
1200 

E    Romlot 

Souvenirs  

(Not  operated) 

J    Fischell 

Diamonds  

16566 
292  00 
120  00 
222  00 
284  00 
466  00 
195  70 
12000 
13600 
396  00 

26  25 
7300 
30  00 
55  50 
71  00 
116  50 
48  92 
30  00 
34  00 
9900 

2625 
73  00 
3000 
5550 
71  00 
116  50 
48  92 
30  00 
3400 
9900 

E  Dunham 

Souvenirs  

Kittie  Fulmer 

Milk                     

G  N    Haines 

Engraving 

Louis  Brandis..  

Souvenirs  
Souvenirs      ............. 

Schafer  &  Holbrook 

Souvenirs 

H  Crowley 

Souvenirs  

A  M  Sloss 

Souvenirs  ..._........... 

S  H  Burns 

Souvenirs           .  ........ 

W  K  Deacon 

Souvenirs              

630  00 
52800 

15750 
132  00 

15750 
13200 

T   C    Mattox 

Cider 

(Not  operated) 

Souvenirs 

460  00 
8400 
2000 
1,00000 
360  00 
11  70 
3600 
16000 
189  50 
29  90 
32  00 
64  00 
160  00 
100  00 
873  30 

115  00 
21  00 
5  00 
250  00 
9000 
2  92 
9  00 
4000 
47  38 
7  48 
8  00 
1600 
4000 
25  00 
218  32 

11500 
21  00 
5  00 
250  00 
9000 
292 
9  00 
40  00 
4738 
748 
800 
16  00 
4000 
2500 
218  32 

Arthur  E  Clark  Jr 

Souvenirs 

Geo  A  Cankaler 

Souvenirs  ...  

Kaleski  Bros 

Ivory  Goods                

Souvenirs 

Fruit 

F  Scott 

Souvenirs        .  ..  

Alf  Tacy 

Medals  

T  A   Steiger 

Souvenirs  

Handkerchiefs  

Souvenirs                     

F.  A.  Camp  

Souvenirs  

Souvenirs            

Wells  &  Wetmore  

Souvenirs  

Amounts  carried  forwa 

rd  

$45,790  80 

$11,496  19 

$11,496  19 

494 


APPENDIX 


EXHIBITOR'S  SALBS.~&a*/s««A£ 


Per- 
mit 
No. 

GRANTED  TO. 

To  SELL. 

Gross 
Receipts. 

Exposi- 
tion 
Revenue. 

Cash 
Collec- 
tions. 

A140 
141 
142 
143 
144 
145 
146 
147 
148 
149 
150 
151 
152 
153 
154 
155 
156 
157 
158 
159 
160 
161 
162 
163 
164 
165 
166 

Amounts  brought  forwa 
W.H.Walker                

rd  

$45,790  80 
2000 
203  50 
30  50 
197  80 
130  00 
160  00 
60  00 
140  00 
60  00 
110  00 
35  00 
207  00 
6000 
33  80 
90  00 
299  75 
120  00 
100  00 
196  00 
1,448  00 
40  00 
5000 
140  00 
1,056  00 
14000 
32  15 
123  00 

$11,496  19 
5  00 
50  87 
7  62 
49  45 
3250 
40  00 
15  00 
35  00 
15  00 
27  50 
8  75 
51  75 
15  00 
8  45 
22  50 
74  94 
30  00 
25  00 
49  00 
36200 
10  00 
12  50 
35  00 
26400 
35  00 
8  04 
30  75 

$11,496  19 
500 
5087 
7  62 
4945 
32  50 
4000 
1500 
35  00 
15  00 
27  50 
8  75 
51  75 
15  00 
845 
2250 
74  94 
3000 
25  00 
4900 
362  00 
1000 
1250 
35  00 
26400 
3500 
8  04 
3075 

Needle  Threader 

Arthur  Fisher 

Souvenirs 

Barton  Mfg.  Co  

Souvenirs  

S.  H.  Bramer                    _.  _ 

Souvenirs 

Leo  Breenittzer 

Souvenirs 

Brown  Amber  Co.  ...... 

Amber  Goods 

Sol  Fischel 

Diamonds 

Geo.  C.  Mather... 

Souvenirs  

H.  D.  Hill 

Souvenirs 

A.  Seaton 

Souvenirs  

F.  B.  Viall 

Souvenirs 

W.  C.  Porterfield  

Souvenirs  

R.  Sauley                            

Souvenirs 

Sarah  E.  Titcomb... 

Souvenirs  

J.  H.  Caruss      

Lenses,  etc. 

C.  G.  Johnson 

Souvenirs 

J.  Lowenberg  . 

Souvenirs 

Geo.  H.  Albin 

Wood  Souvenirs 

A.   Dreissen    . 

Souvenirs 

S.  Miller 

Fancy  Articles 

S.  Reamington  

Souvenirs 

R.  Jones 

Cider 

E.  H.  Fleming 

Souvenirs 

Valensin  &  Muller 

Souvenirs 

Miss  L.  Hammond  

Souvenirs    

E.   Giroux 

Souvenirs 

W.  Eichelberger  

Souvenirs  

Totals  

$51,073  30 

$12,816  81 

$12,816  81 

SUNDRIES. 


Exposition 
Revenue. 

Cash 
Collec- 
tions. 

Traveling  Cranes 

$10,219  90 

$10  219  90 

Foreign  Craft  Landings—  59th  Street  Pier  . 

477  35 

477  35 

Transportation  Department  —  (Garbage  and  Tonnage) 

1,083  82 

1,083  82 

Safety  Deposit  Vaults  

657  17 

657  17 

Dairy  Receipts     .         .           ... 

6450  92 

6,450  92 

Guide  Corps.  _  

588  00 

588  00 

Musical  Performances 

11,262  10 

11,262  10 

Music  Hall... 

23,194  00 

23,194  00 

Festival  Hall     , 

28,178  50 

28,178  50 

Recital  Hall  

84  00 

84  00 

Totals  

$82,195  76 

$82,195  76 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS.  495 

WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 
DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS  —  May  i,  1893,  to  February  10,  1894. 

RECAPITULATION. 

AUDlTS-Month  of  May $188,668  50 

COLLECTIONS— Month  of  May $51 182  30 

AUDITS— Month  of  June 595,971  71 

COLLECTIONS— Month  of  June x  338,142  59 

AUDITS— Month  of  July 624,018  30 

COLLECTIONS— Month  of  July 561,100  76 

AUDITS— Month  of  August 676,141  08 

COLLECTIONS— Month  of  August 568,786  26 

AUDITS— Month  of  September 981,791  46 

COLLECTIONS— Month  of  September  825,294  01 

AUDITS— Month  of  October  to  date..     1,197,397  49 
COLLECTIONS— Month  of  October  to 

date 1,096,042  39 

SUNDRY  AUDITS— FOR  SEASON $4,263,988  54  $3,440,548  31 

Concession  No.  43,  Irish  Industries 

Association.    (Admissions) 

Concession  No.  69,  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Hart 

SUNDRY  COLLECTIONS 28,946  54 

(Garbage,  Dairy  Receipts,  Traveling 
Cranes,  etc.) 

TOTAL  AUDITS $4,332,576  52 

TOTAL  COLLECTIONS $3,469,494  85 

BALANCE $863,081  67 

Revenue.    Concessions  Nos.  1  to  369 $4,237,56395 

Revenue.    Exhibitors'  Sales.  Permits  Nos.  1  to  166         12,816  81 
Sundry  Items 82,195  76 

TOTAL  AUDITS $4,332,576  52 

Collections  from  concessionaires. $3,440,54831 

Collections  from  other  sources 28,946  54 

TOTAL  COLLECTIONS 3,469,494  85 

BALANCE $863,081  67 

LESS. 

The  following  amounts  were  placed  to  credit  of 
respective  concessions  on  following  accounts: 

CONSTRUCTION $251,431  16 

CLAIMS  AND  DAMAGES  ADJUSTED 203,019  02 

FINAL  SETTLEMENT  (deposit  applied) 82,079  66 

DISPUTED  ACCOUNTS  AND  ACCOUNTS  IN  LITI- 
GATION         240,807  30 

SUSPENSE  ACCOUNTS 7,661  10 

— — — —      J7o4,99o  *4 
IRISH  VILLAGES.    Admissions  not  collected  as 

per  contract...  68.587  98 

9,495  45 

BALANCE  OUTSTANDING — COLLECTIBLE: 

Concession  No.  39— World's  Fair  Captive  Bal- 
loon Company »1,213 

Concession  No.   41— Hyde  Park  Gas  Company  .  3,666  18 

Concession  No.    59— International    Dress  and 
Costume  Company 

Concession  No.   89-Mrs.  W.  R.  Robeson 

Concession  No.   94—  Wellington  Catering  Co...  3,466  17 

Concession  No.  257- S.  K.  Bistani 

Concession  No.  296— J.  B.  Campbell., 


WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS — FEBRUARY  n,  1894. 

The  following  supplementary  statement  shows  the  various  entries  to  be 
considered,  that  the  statement  of  Paul  Blackmar,  Superintendent  Department 
of  Collections,  dated  February  n,  1894,  may  agree  with  concession  receipts 
as  shown  in  auditor's  report  of  same  date  : 

To  CASH  COLLECTIONS  : 

Turned  over  to  A.  F.  Seeberger,  treasurer...    $3,469,494  85 

Deposits  applied  on  settlements 82 ,079  66 

Collections  by  Treasurer : 

Symphony  Orchestra $1 , 500  00 

Turned  in  by  Mr.  Wilson 39  00 

Sheriff,  cigar  sales— Casino 1  00 

1,540  00 

PRE- EXPOSITION  REVENUES  COLLECTED  BY  AUDITOR: 
Con.    9— J.  M.  Skiles  &  Co.. $5,007  38 

11— T.  J.  Mannion 74  31 

15— W.  F.  S.  S.  Co 1,942  36 

18— E.  R.  Nichols..  742  27 

27— H.  V.  Holmes 27  51 

63— F.  H.  Noble  &  Co 2,330  29 

Philipson  Min.  W.  F._ 911  36 

Public  Convenience  Co 1 ,243  16 

Columbian  Com 269  05 

12,547  69 

ESCROW  KEY  ACCOUNT: 

To  secure  return  of  vault  keys 6  00 

DEPOSITS  STILL  TO  CONCESSIONAIRES'  CREDIT  : 

Thos.  Stevens $     100  00 

E.  E.  Hartzel _.       1,000  00 

C.  H.  Taney 20,000  00 

Chemical  National  Bank 6,000  00 

27,100  00 

$3,592,768  20 

LESS  ACCOUNTS  IN  GENERAL  LEDGER — TRANSPORTATION 
DEPARTMENT  : 

Tonnage  and  garbage $1 ,083  82 

Dairy  receipts 6,450  92 

Traveling  cranes 10,219  90 

$17,754  64 


Carried  forward $17,754  64   $3,592,768  20 

(496) 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COLLECTIONS. 


497 


Brought  forward  .  ..................        $17,75464  $3,592,76820 

REFUNDED  BY  AUDITOR: 

Con.    13  —  Moorish  Palace  .....       $      2480 

"      48—  E.  Muybridge  ........  3  75 

"     182—  Old  Vienna  .........  3,90782 

"     195—  Cont.  Pub.  Co  .........  32  75 

"     198—  F.  J.  Dugan  ..........  30  00 

4  '     234^-Java-Chicago  .  ........     13,132  02 

"     239—  W.  S.  P.  Glove  Co  .....          542  14 

249—  Mueller  Retail  Co.  .  .          3,600  00 
304—  Orchestral  Concerts  .  .  .       4,770  41 
323—  M  .  W.  Johnson  .......  186  55 

338—  J  .  W.  Cummings  ......          200  00 

342—  Martin  Mayer.  .  .......  48  88 

354  —  Magnus  Anderson  _____          264  73 

Concerts  .............  .       8,893  15 

35,637  00 

53,391  64 

$3,539,376  56 

ALLOWANCES  : 

Construction  Account  ............  $251  ,431  16 

Claims  and  Damages  .........         203,019  02 

--      $454,450  18 

LESS  VOUCHERS  NOT  YET  RECEIVED  BY  AUDITOR: 
Con.    15—  W.  F.  Steamship  Co...  $  46,690  79 
73—  Expo.  Safe  Deposit  Co.          300  00 
88—  Lee  Cahn  _____  .......  .  8446 

94_  Wellington  Catering  Co.          597  30 
119—  Union  News  Co.  ______  7  56 

133—  Lapland  Ex.  Co  _______       1,000  00 

140—  Clow  Sanitary  Co  .....   150,085  39 

173—  City  News  Co  ......  ...          654  98 

199,420  48 
-  -        255,029  70 

$3,794,406  26 
CONCESSION  RECEIPTS  : 

As  per  auditor's  report  of  February  11  ,  1894  ...............    $3,794,406  26 

Having  made  an  examination  of  the  various  accounts,  as  shown  on  the 
books  of  the  Department  of  Collections,  I  certify  the  above,  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  statement  of  Paul  Blackmar,  Superintendent,  dated  February  11, 
1894,  to  be  a  correct  transcript  of  said  accounts,  and  that  they  agree  with  the 
accounts  as  shown  in  Auditor's  Department,  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

C.  T.  MILLER. 
A.  D.  COON, 

In  Charge  of  Records, 

Dept  of  Collections. 

March  1,  1894. 
32 


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